x — A 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 




LUCRETIA BORGIA. 

From a portrait attributed to Dosso Dossi, in the possession of 
Mr. Henry Doetsch, London. 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ACCORDING TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS 
AND CORRESPONDENCE OF HER DAY 



BY 



FERDINAND GREGOROVIUS 

Author of 
" A History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ayes ' 



TRANSLATED FROM THE THIRD GERMAN EDITION 
BY 

JOHN LESLIE GARNER 
ILLUSTRATED 




NEW YORK 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

MCMIII 



TRET 

ram 

CVwvpifH-rr mrras 
0LA83 IWr Me 
' COPY B 






COPTRIOHT, 1903, BY 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



^dcA/ 



Published, October, 1903 



1 




TO 

DON MICHELANGELO GAETANI 
DUKE OF SERMONETA 



TO DON MICHELANGELO GAETANI 
DUKE OF SERMONETA 



My honored Duke : I am induced to dedicate this work 
to you by the historical circumstances of which it treats 
and also by personal considerations. 

In it you will behold the founders of your ancient and 
illustrious family. The Borgias were mortal enemies of 
the Gaetani, who narrowly escaped the fate prepared for 
them by Alexander VI and his terrible son. Beautiful 
Sermoneta and all the great fiefs in the Maremma fell into 
the maw of the Borgias, and your ancestors either found 
death at their hands or were driven into exile. Donna 
Lucretia became mistress of Sermoneta, and eventually her 
son, Rodrigo of Aragon, inherited the estates of the 
Gaetani. 

Centuries have passed, and a beautiful and unfortunate 
woman may be forgiven for this confiscation of the appa- 
nages of your house. Moreover, it was not long before your 
family was reinstated in its rights by a bull of Julius II, 
which is now preserved — a precious jewel — in your family 
archives. To your house has descended the fame of its 
founders, but to yourself is due the position which the 
Gaetani now again enjoy. 

The survival of historical tradition in things and men 
exercises an indescribable charm on every student of civi- 
lization. To recognize in the ancient and still flourishing 
families of modern Rome the descendants of the great per- 

vii 



DEDICATION 

sonalities of other times, and to enjoy daily intercourse with 
them, made a profound impression on me. The Colonna, 
the Orsini, and the Gaetani are my friends, and all afforded 
me the greatest assistance. These families long ago vanished 
from the stage of Roman history, but the day came, illus- 
trious Duke, when you were to make a place again for your 
ancient race in the history of the Imperial City; the day 
when — the temporal power of the popes having passed away, 
a power which had endured a thousand years — you carried 
to King Victor Emmanuel in Florence the declaration of 
allegiance of the Roman populace. This episode, mark- 
ing the beginning of a new era for the city, will live, 
together with your name, in the annals of the Gaetani, and 
will preserve it forever in the memory of the Romans. 

Gregorovius. 
Kome, March 9, 1874. 



Vlli 



CONTENTS 

BOOK THE FIRST— LUCRET1A BORGIA IN ROME 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Lucretia's Father 3 

CHAPTER II 
Lucretia's Mother 10 

CHAPTER III 
Lucretia's First Home 15 

CHAPTER IV 
Lucretia's Education 20 

CHAPTER V 
Nepotism — Giulia Farnese — Lucretia's Betrothals . . 34 

CHAPTER VI 

Her Father becomes Pope — Giovanni Sforza ... 44 

ix 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER VII 

PAGE 

Lucretia's First Marriage 53 



CHAPTER VIII 
Family Affairs 62 

CHAPTER IX 
Lucretia Leaves Rome 71 

CHAPTER X 
History and Description of Pesaro 76 

CHAPTER XI 
The Invasion of Italy — The Profligate World . . 87 

CHAPTER XII 
The Divorce and Second Marriage 102 

CHAPTER XIII 
A Regent and a Mother 113 

CHAPTER XIV 

Social Life of the Borgias 125 

X 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XV 

PAGE 

Misfortunes of Catarina Sforza 137 



CHAPTER XVI 
Murder of Alfonso of Aragon 145 

CHAPTER XVII 

LUCRETIA AT NEPI 152 

CHAPTER XVIII 
Cesar at Pesaro 159 

CHAPTER XIX 

Another Marriage Planned for Lucretia .... 167 

CHAPTER XX 

Negotiations with the House of Este .... 182 

CHAPTER XXI 
The Eve of the Wedding 196 

CHAPTER XXII 
Arrival and Return of the Bridal Escort . . . 207 

xi 



CONTENTS 

BOOK THE SECOND— LUCRETIA IN FERRARA 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Lucretia's Journey to Ferrara 229 

CHAPTER II 
Formal Entry into Ferrara 239 

CHAPTER III 
Fetes Given in Lucretia's Honor 250 

CHAPTER IV 

The Este Dynasty — Description of Ferrara . . . 266 

CHAPTER V 
Death op Alexander VI 279 

CHAPTER VI 
Events Following the Pope's Death .... 293 

CHAPTER VII 

Court Poets — Giulia Bella and Julius II — The Este Dy- 
nasty Endangered 303 

xii 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER VIII 

PAGB 

Escape and Death of Cesar 317 



CHAPTER IX 

Murder of Ercole Strozzi — Death of Giovanni Sforza and 

of Lucretia's Eldest Son 326 



CHAPTER X 

Effects of the War — The Roman Infante . . . 338 

CHAPTER XI 
Last Years and Death of Vannozza 345 

CHAPTER XII 
Death of Lucretia Borgia — Conclusion .... 355 



Xlll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Lucretia Borgia, from a portrait attributed to Dosso Dossi 

Frontispiece 

Trajan's Forum, Rome Facing page 16 

Church of S. Maria del Popolo, Rome 

Vittoria Colonna . 

The Farnese Palace, Rome . 



i, Rome 



Alexander VI 

Church of Ara Cce 

Tasso 

Charles VIII . 

Savonarola 

Macchiavelli . 

Caesar Borgia 

Guicciardini . 

Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara 

Castle of S. Angelo, Rome . 

Ariosto ..... 

Castle Vecchio, Ferrara 

Benvenuto Garofalo 

Facsimile of a letter from Alexander VI to 

Cardinal Bembo 

Julius II 

Facsimile of a letter from Lucretia 

Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara 

Aldo Manuzio 

Leo X 

Lucretia Borgia, after a painting 
NImes ..... 

XV 



94 - 
100 

148 

176 

206 

210 

248 

270 

278. 

Page 281 

Facing page 290 

" " 298 

to Marquis Gonzaga . Page 301 

Facing page 304 

" 328 „ 



20 
30 
36 
44 
58 
82 



Lucretia 



in the Musee de 



338 



360 



INTRODUCTION 



Lucretia Borgia is the most unfortunate woman in 
modern history. Is this because she was guilty of the 
most hideous crimes, or is it simply because she has been 
unjustly condemned by the world to bear its curse? The 
question has never been answered. Mankind is ever ready 
to discover the personification of human virtues and human 
vices in certain typical characters found in history and 
fable. 

The Borgias will never cease to fascinate the historian 
and the psychologist. An intelligent friend of mine once 
asked me why it was that everything about Alexander 
VI, Caesar, and Lucretia Borgia, every little fact regard- 
ing their lives, every newly discovered letter of any of 
them, aroused our interest much more than did anything 
similar concerning other and vastly more important 
historic characters. I know of no better explanation 
than the following: the Borgias had for background 
the Christian Church; they made their first appear- 
ance issuing from it; they used it for their advancement; 
and the sharp contrast of their conduct with the holy state 
makes them appear altogether fiendish. The Borgias are 
a satire on a great form or phase of religion, debasing and 
destroying it. They stand on high pedestals, and from 
their presence radiates the light of the Christian ideal. In 
this form we behold and recognize them. We view their 
acts through a medium which is permeated with religious 
b xvii 



INTRODUCTION 

ideas. Without this, and placed on a purely secular stage, 
the Borgias would have fallen into a position much less con- 
spicuous than that of many other men, and would soon have 
ceased to be anything more than representatives of a large 
species. 

We possess the history of Alexander VI and Cassar, but 
of Lucretia Borgia we have little more than a legend, ac- 
cording to which she is a fury, the poison in one hand, the 
poignard in the other; and yet this baneful personality 
possessed all the charms and graces. 

Victor Hugo painted her as a moral monster, in which 
form she still treads the operatic stage, and this is the 
conception which mankind in general have of her. The 
lover of real poetry regards this romanticist's terrible 
drama of Lucretia Borgia as a grotesque manifestation of 
the art, while the historian laughs at it ; the poet, however, 
may excuse himself on the ground of his ignorance, and of 
his belief in a myth which had been current since the 
publication of Guicciardini's history. 

Roscoe, doubting the truth of this legend, endeavored 
to disprove it, and his apology for Lucretia was highly 
gratifying to the patriotic Italians. To it is due the reac- 
tion which has recently set in against this conception of 
her. The Lucretia legend may be analyzed most satis- 
factorily and scientifically where documents and mementos 
of her are most numerous; namely, in Rome, Ferrara, 
and Modena, where the archives of the Este family are 
kept, and in Mantua, where those of the Gonzaga are 
preserved. Occasional publications show that the inter- 
esting question still lives and remains unanswered. 

The history of the Borgias was taken up again by Do- 
menico Cerri in his work, Borgia ossia Alessandro VI, Papa 
e suoi contemporanei, Turin, 1858. The following year 

xviii 



INTRODUCTION 

Bernardo Gatti, of Milan, published Lucretia's letters to 
Bembo. In 1866 Marquis G. Campori, of Modena, printed 
an essay entitled Una vittima delta storia Lucrezia Borgia, 
in the Nuova Antologia of August 31st of that year. A 
year later Monsignor Antonelli, of Ferrara, published 
Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara, Sposa a Don Alfonso d'Este, 
Memorie storiche, Ferrara, 1867. Giovanni Zucchetti, of 
Mantua, immediately followed with a similar opuscule : Lu- 
crezia Borgia Duchessa di Ferrara, Milano, 1869. All these 
writers endeavored, with the aid of history, to clear up the 
Lucretia legend, and to rehabilitate the honor of the un- 
fortunate woman. 

Other writers, not Italians, among them certain French 
and English authors, also took part in this effort. M. Ar- 
mand Baschet, to whom we are indebted for several valu- 
able publications in the field of diplomacy, announced in 
his work, Aldo Manuzio, Lettres et Documents, 1494-1515, 
Venice, 1867, that he had been engaged for years on a 
biography of Madonna Lucretia Borgia, and had collected 
for the purpose a large mass of original documents. 

In the meantime, in 1869, there was published in Lon- 
don the first exhaustive work on the subject : Lucrezia Bor- 
gia, Duchess of Ferrara, a Biography , illustrated by rare 
and unpublished documents, by William Gilbert. The ab- 
sence of scientific method, unfortunately, detracts from the 
value of this otherwise excellent production, which, as a 
sequel to Roscoe's works, attracted no little attention. 

The swarm of apologies for the Borgias called forth in 
France one of the most wonderful books to which history 
has ever given birth. Ollivier, a Dominican, published, 
in 1870, the first part of a work entitled Le Pape Alex- 
andre VI et les Borgia. This production is the fantastic 
antithesis of Victor Hugo's drama. For, while the latter 

xix 



INTRODUCTION 

distorted history for the purpose of producing a moral 
monster for stage effect, the former did exactly the same 
thing, intending to create the very opposite. Monks, how- 
ever, now are no longer able to compel the world to accept 
their fables as history, and Ollivier's absurd romance was 
renounced even by the strongest organs of the Church ; first 
by Matagne, in the Revue des questions historiques, Paris, 
April, 1871, and January, 1872, and subsequently by the 
Civilta Cattolica, the organ of the Jesuits, in an article 
dated March 15, 1873, whose author made no effort to de- 
fend Alexander's character, simply because, in the light of 
absolutely authentic historical documents, it was no longer 
possible to save it. 

This article was based upon the Saggio di Albero Genea- 
logico e di Memorie su la familia Borgia specialmente in 
relazione a Ferrara, by L. N. Cittadella, director of the 
public library of that city, published in Turin in 1872. 
The work, although not free from errors, is a conscientious 
effort to clear up the family history of the Borgias. 

At the close of 1872 I likewise entered into the dis- 
cussion by publishing a note on the history of the Borgias. 
This followed the appearance of the volume of the Ge- 
schichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter, which embraced the 
epoch of Alexander VI. My researches in the archives of 
Italy had placed me in possession of a large amount of 
original information concerning the Borgias, and as it 
was impossible for me to avail myself of this mass of valu- 
able details in that work, I decided to use it for a mono- 
graph to be devoted either to Caesar Borgia or to his sister, 
as protagonist. 

I decided on Madonna Lucretia for various reasons, 
among which was the following: in the spring of 1872 I 
found in the archives of the notary of the Capitol in Rome 

xx 



INTRODUCTION 

the protocol-book of Camillo Beneimbene, who for years 
was the trusted legal adviser of Alexander VI. This great 
manuscript proved to be an unexpected treasure ; it fur- 
nished me with a long series of authentic and hitherto 
unknown documents. It contained all the marriage con- 
tracts of Donna Lucretia as well as numerous other legal 
records relating to the most intimate affairs of the Bor- 
gias. In November, 1872, I delivered a lecture on the sub- 
ject before the class in history at the Royal Bavarian 
Academy of Sciences in Munich, which was published in 
the account of the proceedings. These records cast new 
light on the history of the Borgias, whose genealogy had 
only just been published by Cittadella. 

There were other reasons which induced me to write a 
book on Donna Lucretia. I had treated the political 
history of Alexander VI and Caesar at length, and had 
elucidated some of its obscure phases, but to Lucretia 
Borgia I had devoted no special attention. Her person- 
ality appeared to me to be something full of mystery, 
made up of contradictions which remained to be deciphered, 
and I was fascinated by it. 

I began my task without any preconceived intention. 
I purposed to write, not an apology, but a history of 
Lucretia, broadly sketched, the materials for which, in so 
far as the most important period of her life, her residence 
in Rome, was concerned, were already in my possession. 
I desired to ascertain what manner of personality would be 
discovered by treating Lucretia Borgia in a way entirely 
different from that in which she had hitherto been exam- 
ined, but at the same time scientifically, and in accordance 
with the original records. 

I completed my data ; I visited the places where she had 
lived. I repeatedly went to Modena and Mantua, whose 

xxi 



INTRODUCTION 

archives are inexhaustible sources of information regard- 
ing the Renaissance, and from them I obtained most 
of my material. My friends there, as usual, were of 
great help to me, especially Signor Zucchetti, of Mantua, 
late keeper of the Gonzaga archives, and Signor Stefano 
Davari, the secretary. 

The state archives of the Este family of Modena, how- 
ever, yielded me the greatest store of information. The 
custodian was Signor Cesare Foucard. As might have 
been expected of Muratori's successor, this distinguished 
gentleman displayed the greatest willingness to assist me 
in my task. In every way he lightened my labors ; he had 
one of his young assistants, Signor Ognibene, arrange a 
great mass of letters and despatches which promised to be 
of use to me, lent me the index, and supplied me with 
copies. Therefore, if this work has any merit, no small 
part of it is due to Signor Foucard 's obligingness. 

I also met with unfailing courtesy and assistance in 
other places — Nepi, Pesaro, and Ferrara. To Signor 
Cesare Guasti, of the state archives of Florence, I am 
indebted for careful copies of important letters of Lorenzo 
Pucci, which he had made for me. 

The material of which I finally found myself in posses- 
sion is not complete, but it is abundant and new. 

The original records will serve as defense against those 
who endeavor to discover a malicious motive in this work. 
No such interpretation is worthy of further notice, because 
the book itself will make my intention perfectly clear, 
which was simply that of the conscientious writer of his- 
tory. I have substituted history for romance. 

In the work I have attached more importance to the 
period during which Lucretia lived in Rome than to the 
time she spent in Ferrara, because the latter has already 

xxii 



INTRODUCTION 

been described, though not in detail, while the former has 
remained purely legendary. As I had to base my work 
entirely on original information, I endeavored to treat the 
subject in such a way as to present a picture truly charac- 
teristic of the age, and animated by concrete descriptions 
of its striking personalities. 



xxm 



BOOK THE FIRST 
LUCRETIA BORGIA IN ROME 



CHAPTER I 

luceetia's father 

The Spanish house of Borja (or Borgia as the name is 
generally written) was rich in extraordinary men. Nature 
endowed them generously ; they were distinguished by sen- 
suous beauty, physical strength, intellect, and that force 
of will which compels success, and which was the source of 
the greatness of Cortez and Pizarro, and of the other Span- 
ish adventurers. 

Like the Aragonese, the Borgias also played the part 
of conquerors in Italy, winning for themselves honors and 
power, and deeply affecting the destiny of the whole penin- 
sula, where they extended the influence of Spain and 
established numerous branches of their family. From the 
old kings of Aragon they claimed descent, but so little is 
known of their origin that their history begins with the 
real founder of the house, Alfonso Borgia, whose father's 
name is stated by some to have been Juan, and by others 
Domenico ; while the family name of his mother, Francesca, 
is not even known. 

Alfonso Borgia was born in the year 1378 at Xativa, 
near Valencia. He served King Alfonso of Aragon as 
privy secretary, and was made Bishop of Valencia. He 
came to Naples with this genial prince when he ascended 
its throne, and in the year 1444 he was made a cardinal. 

Spain, owing to her religious wars, was advancing to- 
ward national unity, and was fast assuming a position of 

3 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

European importance. She now, by taking a hand in the 
affairs of Italy, endeavored to grasp what she had hitherto 
let slip by ? — namely, the opportunity of becoming the head 
of the Latin world and, above all, the center of gravity of 
European politics and civilization. She soon forced her- 
self into the Papacy and into the Empire. From Spain the 
Borgias first came to the Holy See, and from there later 
came Charles V to ascend the imperial throne. From 
Spain came also Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the 
most powerful politico-religious order history has ever 
known. 

Alfonso Borgia, one of the most active opponents of the 
Council of Basle and of the Reformation in Germany, was 
elected pope in 1455, assuming the name Calixtus III. In- 
numerable were his kinsmen, many of whom he had found 
settled in Rome when he, as cardinal, had taken up his 
residence there. His nearest kin were members of the three 
connected Valencian families of Borgia, Mila (or Mella), 
and Lanzol. One of the sisters of Calixtus, Catarina Bor- 
gia, was married to Juan Mila, Baron of Mazalanes, and 
was the mother of the youthful Juan Luis. Isabella, the 
wife of Jofre Lanzol, a wealthy nobleman of Xativa, was 
the mother of Pedro Luis and Rodrigo, and of several 
daughters. The uncle adopted these two nephews and 
gave them his family name, — thus the Lanzols became 
Borgias. 

In 1456 Calixtus III bestowed the purple upon two 
members of the Mila family: the Bishop Juan of Zamora, 
who died in 1467, in Rome, where his tomb may still be 
seen in S. Maria di Monserrato, and on the youthful Juan 
Luis. Rodrigo Borgia also received the purple in the 
same year. Among other members of the house of 
Mila settled in Rome was Don Pedro, whose daughter, 

4 



LUCEETIA'S FATHER 

Adriana Mila, we shall later find in most intimate rela- 
tions with the family of her uncle Rodrigo. 

Of the sisters of this same Rodrigo, Beatrice was mar- 
ried to Don Ximenez Perez de Arenos, Tecla to Don Vidal 
de Villanova, and Juana to Don Pedro Guillen Lanzol.* 
All these remained in Spain. There is a letter extant, 
written by Beatrice from Valencia to her brother shortly 
after he became pope. 

Rodrigo Borgia was twenty-six when the dignity of 
cardinal was conferred upon him, and to this honor, a year 
later, was added the great office of vice-chancellor of the 
Church of Rome. His brother, Don Pedro Luis, was only 
one year older; and Calixtus bestowed upon this young 
Valencian the highest honors which can fall to the lot of 
a prince's favorite. Later we behold in him a papal nepot- 
prince in whom the Pope endeavored to enfbody all mun- 
dane power and honor; he made him his condottiere, his 
warder, his body-guard, and, finally, his worldly heir. 
Calixtus allowed him to usurp every position of authority 
in the Church domain and, like a destroying angel, to over- 
run and devastate the republics and the tyrannies, for the 
purpose of founding a family dynasty, the Papacy being 
of only momentary tenure, and not transmittable to an 
heir. 

Calixtus made Pedro Luis generalissimo of the Church, 
prefect of the city, Duke of Spoleto, and finally, vicar of 
Terracina and Benevento. Thus in this first Spanish nepot 
was foreshadowed the career which Caesar Borgia later 
followed. 

During the life of Calixtus the Spaniards were all- 
powerful in Rome. In great numbers they poured into 

* Zurita, Anales de Aragon, v. 36. 
5 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

Italy from the kingdom of Valencia to make their fortune 
at the papal court as monsignori and clerks, as captains 
and castellans, and in any other way that suggested itself. 
Calixtus III died on the sixth of August, 1458, and a few 
days later Don Pedro Luis was driven from Rome by the 
oppressed nobility of the country, the Colonna and the 
Orsini, who rose against the hated foreigner. Soon after- 
wards, in December the same year, death suddenly ter- 
minated the career of this young and brilliant upstart, 
then in Civitavecchia. It is not known whether Don Pedro 
Luis Borgia was married or whether he left any descend- 
ants.* 

Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia lamented the loss of his be- 
loved and, probably, only brother, and inherited his 
property, while his own high position in the Curia was not 
affected by the change in the papacy. As vice-chancellor, 
he occupied a house in the Ponte quarter, which had for- 
merly been the Mint, and which he converted into one of the 
most showy of the palaces of Rome. The building encloses 
two courts, where may still be seen the original open colon- 
nades of the lower story; it was constructed as a strong- 
hold, like the Palazzo di Venizia, which was almost con- 
temporaneous with it. The Borgia palace, however, does 
not compare in architectural beauty or size with that built 
by Paul II. In the course of the years it has undergone 
many changes, and for a long time has belonged to the 
Sforza-Cesarini. 

Nothing is known of Rodrigo 's private life during the 
pontificate of the four popes who followed Calixtus — Pius 

* Zurita (iv, 55) says he died sin dexar ninguna sucesion. Not- 
withstanding this, Cittadella, in his Saggio di Albero Genealogico e di 
memorie su la Familia Borgia (Turin, 1872), ascribes two children to 
this Pedro Luis, Silvia and Cardinal Giovanni Borgia, the younger. 

6 



LUCRETIA'S FATHER 

II, Paul II, Sixtus IV, and Innocent VIII — for the records 
of that period are very incomplete. 

Insatiable sensuality ruled this Borgia, a man of un- 
usual beauty and strength, until his last years. Never was 
he able to cast out this demon. He angered Pius II by 
his excesses, and the first ray of light thrown upon Ro- 
drigo's private life is an admonitory letter written by that 
pope, the eleventh of June, 146.Q, from the baths of Petri- 
olo. Borgia was then twenty-nine years old. He was in 
beautiful and captivating Siena, where Piccolomini had 
passed his unholy youth. There he had arranged a bac- 
chanalian orgy of which the Pope's letter gives a picture. 

Dear Son: We have learned that your Worthiness, 
forgetful of the high office with which you are invested, 
was present from the seventeenth to the twenty-second 
hour, four days ago, in the gardens of John de Bichis, 
where there were several women of Siena, women wholly 
given over to worldly vanities. Your companion was one 
of your colleagues whom his years, if not the dignity of 
his office, ought to have reminded of his duty. We have 
heard that the dance was indulged in in all wantonness; 
none of the allurements of love were lacking, and you con- 
ducted yourself in a wholly worldly manner. Shame for- 
bids mention of all that took place, for not only the things 
themselves but their very names are unworthy of your 
rank. In order that your lust might be all the more un- 
restrained, the husbands, fathers, brothers, and kinsmen of 
the young women and girls were not invited to be pres- 
ent. You and a few servants were the leaders and in- 
spirers of this orgy. It is said that nothing is now talked 
of in Siena but your vanity, which is the subject of uni- 
versal ridicule. Certain it is that here at the baths, where 
Churchmen and the laity are very numerous, your name is 
on every one's tongue. Our displeasure is beyond words, for 
your conduct has brought the holy state and office into dis- 
grace; the people will say that they make us rich and 
great, not that we may live a blameless life, but that we 
may have means to gratify our passions. This is the 
reason the princes and the powers despise us and the laity 

7 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

mock us ; this is why our own mode of living is thrown in 
our face when we reprove others. Contempt is the lot of 
Christ's vicar because he seems to tolerate these actions. 
You, dear son, have charge of the bishopric of Valencia, 
the most important in Spain; you are a chancellor of the 
Church, and what renders your conduct all the more repre- 
hensible is the fact that you have a seat among the car- 
dinals, with the Pope, as advisors of the Holy See. We leave 
it to you whether it is becoming to your dignity to court 
young women, and to send those whom you love fruits and 
wine, and during the whole day to give no thought to any- 
thing but sensual pleasures. People blame us on your 
account, and the memory of your blessed uncle, Calixtus, 
likewise suffers, and many say he did wrong in heaping 
honors upon you. If you try to excuse yourself on the 
ground of your youth, I say to you: you are no longer so 
young as not to see what duties your offices impose upon 
you. A cardinal should be above reproach and an example 
of right living before the eyes of all men, and then we 
should have just grounds for anger when temporal princes 
bestow uncomplimentary epithets upon us; when they 
dispute with us the possession of our property and force 
us to submit ourselves to their will. Of a truth we inflict 
these wounds upon ourselves, and we ourselves are the 
cause of these troubles, since we by our conduct are daily 
diminishing the authority of the Church. Our punishment 
for it in this world is dishonor, and in the world to come 
well deserved torment. May, therefore, your good sense 
place a restraint on these frivolities, and may you never 
lose sight of your dignity ; then people will not call you a 
vain gallant among men. If this occurs again we shall be 
compelled to show that it was contrary to our exhortation, 
and that it caused us great pain ; and our censure will not 
pass over you without causing you to blush. We have al- 
ways loved you and thought you worthy of our protection 
as a man of an earnest and modest character. Therefore, 
conduct yourself henceforth so that we may retain this our 
opinion of you, and may behold in you only the example of 
a well ordered life. Your years, which are not such as to 
preclude improvement, permit us to admonish you pater- 
nally. 

Petriolo, June 11, 1460.* 

* Raynaldus, 1460. No. 31. 
8 



LUCRETIA'S FATHER 

A few years later, when Paul II occupied the papal 
throne, the historian Gasparino of Verona described Car- 
dinal Borgia as follows: "He is handsome; of a most 
glad countenance and joyous aspect, gifted with honeyed 
and choice eloquence. The beautiful women on whom his 
eyes are cast he lures to love him, and moves them in a 
wondrous way, more powerfully than the magnet in- 
fluences iron." 

There are such organizations as Gasparino describes; 
they are men of the physical and moral nature of Casa- 
nova and the Regent of Orleans. Rodrigo's beauty was 
noted by many of his contemporaries even when he was 
pope. In 1493 Hieronymus Portius described him as fol- 
lows: Alexander is tall and neither light nor dark; his 
eyes are black and his lips somewhat full. His health is 
robust, and he is able to bear any pain or fatigue; he is 
wonderfully eloquent and a thorough man of the world. ' ' * 

The force of this happy organization lay, apparently, 
in the perfect balance of all its powers. From it radiated 
the serene brightness of his being, for nothing is more in- 
correct than the picture usually drawn of this Borgia, 
showing him as a sinister monster. The celebrated Jason 
Mainus, of Milan, calls attention to his " elegance of 
figure, his serene brow, his kingly forehead, his counte- 
nance with its expression of generosity and majesty, his 
genius, and the heroic beauty of his whole presence." 

* Statura procerus, colore medio, nigris oculis, ore paululum pleniore. 
Hieron. Portius, Commentarius, a rare publication of 1493, iu the Casa- 
natense in Rome. 



CHAPTER II 
lucretia/s mother 

About 1466 or 1467 Cardinal Rodrigo's magnetism 
attracted a woman of Rome, Vannozza Catanei. We know 
that she was born in July, 1442, but of her family we are 
wholly ignorant. Writers of that day also call her Rosa 
and Catarina, although she named herself, in well authen- 
ticated documents, Vannozza Catanei. Paolo Giovio states 
that Vanotti was her patronymic, and although there was a 
clan of that name in Rome, he is wrong. Vannozza was 
probably the nickname for Giovanna — thus we find in the 
early records of that age :Vannozza di Nardis, Vannozza di 
Zanobeis, di Pontianis, and others. 

There was a Catanei family in Rome, as there was in 
Ferrara, Genoa, and elsewhere. The name was derived 
from the title, capitaneus. In a notarial document of 1502 
the name of Alexander's mistress is given in its ancient 
form, Vanotia de Captaneis. 

Litta, to whom Italy is indebted for the great work on 
her illustrious families — a wonderful work in spite of its 
errors and omissions — ventures the opinion that Vannozza 
was a member of the Farnese family and a daughter of 
Ranuccio. There is, however, no ground for this theory. 
In written instruments of that time she is explicitly called 
Madonna Vannozza de casa Catanei. 

None of Vannozza 's contemporaries have stated what 
were the characteristics which enabled her to hold the 

10 



LUCRETIA'S MOTHER 

pleasure-loving cardinal so surely and to secure her recog- 
nition as the mother of several of his acknowledged children. 
We may imagine her to have been a strong and voluptuous 
woman like those still seen about the streets of Rome. They 
possess none of the grace of the ideal woman of the Um- 
brian school, but they have something of the magnificence 
of the Imperial City — Juno and Venus are united in them. 
They would resemble the ideals of Titian and Paul Vero- 
nese but for their black hair and dark complexion, — blond 
and red hair have always been rare among the Romans. 

Vannozza doubtless was of great beauty and ardent 
passions; for if not, how could she have inflamed a Ro- 
drigo Borgia? Her intellect too, although uncultivated, 
must have been vigorous; for if not, how could she have 
maintained her relations with the cardinal? 

The date given above was the beginning of this liai- 
son, if we may believe the Spanish historian Mariana, 
who says that Vannozza was the mother of Don Pedro Luis, 
Rodrigo's eldest son. In a notarial instrument of 1482 
this son of the cardinal is called a youth (adolescens) , 
which signified a person fourteen or fifteen years of age. 
In what circumstances Vannozza was living when Cardinal 
Borgia made her acquaintance we do not know. It is not 
likely that she was one of the innumerable courtesans who, 
thanks to the liberality of their retainers, led most brilliant 
lives in Rome at that period ; for had she been, the novelists 
and epigrammatists of the day would have made her 
famous. 

The chronicler Infessura, who must have been 
acquainted with Vannozza, relates that Alexander VI, 
wishing to make his natural son Cassar a cardinal, caused 
it to appear, by false testimony, that he was the legitimate 
son of a certain Domenico of Arignano, and he adds that 

11 



LUCRETIA BOEGIA 

he had even married Vannozza to this man. The testimony 
of a contemporary and a Roman should have weight; but 
no other writer, except Mariana — who evidently bases his 
statement on Infessura — mentions this Domenico, and we 
shall soon see that there could have been no legal, acknowl- 
edged marriage of Vannozza and this unknown man. She 
was the cardinal's mistress for a much longer time before 
he himself, for the purpose of cloaking his relations with 
her and for lightening his burden, gave her a husband. 
His relations with her continued for a long time after she 
had a recognized consort. 

The first acknowledged husband of Vannozza was 
Giorgio di Croce, a Milanese, for whom Cardinal Rod- 
rigo had obtained from Sixtus IV a position as apos- 
tolic secretary. It is uncertain at just what time she allied 
herself with this man, but she was living with him as his 
wife in 1480 in a house on the Piazzo Pizzo di Merlo, 
which is now called Sforza-Cesarini, near which was Car- 
dinal Borgia's palace. 

Even as early as this, Vannozza was the mother 
of several children acknowledged by the cardinal: Gio- 
vanni, Caesar, and Lucretia. There is no doubt whatever 
about these, although the descent of the eldest of the chil- 
dren, Pedro Luis, from the same mother, is only highly 
probable. Thus far the date of the birth of this Borgia 
bastard has not been established, and authorities differ. 
In absolutely authentic records I discovered the dates of 
birth of Caesar and Lucretia, which clear up forever many 
errors regarding the genealogy and even the history of the 
house. Caesar was born in the month of April, 1476 — the 
day is not given — and Lucretia on the eighteenth of April, 
1480. Their father, when he was pope, gave their ages in 
accordance with these dates. In October, 1501, he men- 

12 



LUCKETIA'S MOTHER 

tioned the subject to the ambassador of Ferrara, and the 
latter, writing to the Duke Ercole, said, " The Pope gave 
me to understand that the Duchess (Lucretia) was in her 
twenty-second year, which she will complete next April, 
in which month also the most illustrious Duke of Romagna 
(Caesar) will be twenty-six." 

If the correctness of the father's statement of the age 
of his own children is questioned, it may be confirmed by 
other reports and records. In despatches which a Fer- 
rarese ambassador sent to the same duke from Rome much 
earlier, namely, in February and March, 1483, the age of 
Caesar at that time is given as sixteen to seventeen years, 
which agrees with the subsequent statement of his father.* 
The son of Alexander VI was, therefore, a few years 
younger than has hitherto been supposed, and this fact 
has an important bearing upon his short and terrible life. 
Mariana, therefore, and other authors who follow him, 
err in stating that Caesar, Rodrigo's second son, was older 
than his brother Giovanni. In reality, Giovanni must have 
been two years older than Caesar. Venetian letters from 
Rome, written in October, 1496, describe him as a young 
man of twenty-two; he accordingly must have been born 
in 1474.+ 

Lucretia herself came into the world April 18, 1480. 
This exact date is given in a Valencian document. Her 
father was then forty-nine and her mother thirty-eight 
years of age. The Roman or Spanish astrologers cast the 
horoscope of the child according to the constellation which 
was in the ascendancy, and congratulated Cardinal Ro- 
drigo on the brilliant career foretold for his daughter by 
the stars. 

* Gianandrea Boccaccio to the duke, Home, February 25 and March 
11, 1493. State archives of Modena. f Sanuto, Diar. v. i, 258. 

13 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Easter had just passed ; magnificent festivities had been 
held in honor of the Elector Ernst of Saxony, who, to- 
gether with the Duke of Brunswick and Wilhelm von 
Henneberg had arrived in Rome March 22d. These gentle- 
men were accompanied by a retinue of two hundred 
knights, and a house in the Parione quarter had been 
placed at their disposal. Pope Sixtus IV loaded them with 
honors, and great astonishment was caused by a magnifi- 
cent hunt which Girolamo Riario, the all-powerful nepot, 
gave for them at Magliana on the Tiber. These princes 
departed from Rome on the fourteenth of April. 

The papacy was at that time changing to a political 
despotism, and nepotism was assuming the character which 
later was to give Caesar Borgia all his ferocity. Sixtus IV, 
a mighty being and a character of a much more powerful 
cast than even Alexander VI, was at war with Florence, 
where he had countenanced the Pazzi conspiracy for the 
murder of the Medici. He had made Girolamo Riario a 
great prince in Romagna, and later Alexander VI planned 
a similar career for his son Caesar. 

Lucretia was indeed born at a terrible period in the 
world's history; the papacy was stripped of all holiness, 
religion was altogether material, and immorality was 
boundless. The bitterest family feuds raged in the city, 
in the Ponte, Parione, and Regola quarters, where kinsmen 
incited by murder daily met in deadly combat. In this 
very year, 1480, there was a new uprising of the old fac- 
tions of Guelph and Ghibbeline in Rome ; there the Savelli 
and Colonna were against the Pope, and here the Orsini 
for him ; while the Valle, Margana, and Santa Croce fami- 
lies, inflamed by a desire for revenge for blood which had 
been shed, allied themselves with one or the other faction. 



14 



CHAPTER III 

lucretia's first home 

Lucretia passed the first years of her childhood in her 
mother's house, which was on the Piazza Pizzo di Merlo, 
only a few steps from the cardinal's palace. The Ponte 
quarter, to which it belonged, was one of the most populous 
of Rome, since it led to the Bridge of S. Angelo and the 
Vatican. In it were to be found many merchants and the 
bankers from Florence, Genoa, and Siena, while numerous 
papal office-holders, as well as the most famous courtesans 
dwelt there. On the other hand, the number of old, noble 
families in Ponte was not large, perhaps because the Orsini 
faction did not permit them to thrive there. These power- 
ful barons had resided in this quarter for a long time in 
their vast palace on Monte Giordano. Not far distant stood 
their old castle, the Torre di Nona, which had originally 
been part of the city walls on the Tiber. At this time it 
was a dungeon for prisoners of state and other unfor- 
tunates. >'- 

It is not difficult to imagine what Vannozza's house was, 
for the Roman dwelling of the Renaissance did not greatly 
differ from the ordinary house of the present day, which 
generally is gloomy and dark. Massive steps of cement led 
to the dwelling proper, which consisted of a principal salon 
and adjoining rooms with bare flagstone floors, and ceil- 
ings of beams and painted wooden paneling. The walls of 
the rooms were whitewashed, and only in the wealthiest 
houses were they covered with tapestries, and in these only 
on festal occasions. In the fifteenth century the walls of 

15 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

few houses were adorned with pictures, and these usually 
consisted of only a few family portraits. If Vannozza 
decorated her salon with any likenesses, that of Cardinal 
Rodrigo certainly must have been among the number. 
There was likewise a shrine with relics and pictures of the 
saints and one of the Madonna, the lamp constantly burn- 
ing before it. 

Heavy furniture, — great wide beds with canopies; high, 
brown wooden chairs, elaborately carved, upon which 
cushions were placed ; and massive tables, with tops made of 
marble or bits of colored wood, — was ranged around the 
walls. Among the great chests there was one which stood 
out conspicuously in the salon, and which contained the 
dowry of linen. It was in such a chest — the chest of his 
sister — that the unfortunate Stefano Porcaro concealed 
himself when he endeavored to escape after his unsuc- 
cessful attempt to excite an uprising on the fifth of 
January, 1453. His sister and another woman sat on the 
chest, better to protect him, but the officers pulled him out. 

Although we can only state what was then the fashion, 
if Vannozza had any taste for antiquities her salon must 
have been adorned with them. At that time they were 
being collected with the greatest eagerness. It was the 
period of the first excavations ; the soil of Rome was daily 
giving up its treasures, and from Ostia, Tivoli, and 
Hadrian 's Villa, from Porto d Anzio and Palestrina, quan- 
tities of antiquities were being brought to the city. If 
Vannozza and her husband did not share this passion with 
the other Romans, one would certainly not have looked in 
vain in her house for the cherished productions of modern 
art — cups and vases of marble and porphyry, and the gold 
ornaments of the jewelers. The most essential thing in 
every well ordered Roman house was above all else the cre- 

16 



LUCRETIA'S FIRST HOME 

denza, a great chest containing gold and silver table and 
drinking vessels and beautiful majolica; and care was 
taken always to display these articles at banquets and on 
other ceremonious occasions. 

It is not likely that Rodrigo's mistress possessed a 
library, for private collections of books were at that time 
exceedingly rare in bourgeois houses. A short time after 
this they were first made possible in Rome by the invention 
of printing, which was there carried on by Germans. 

Vannozza's household doubtless was rich but not mag- 
nificent. She must occasionally have entertained the car- 
dinal, as well as the friends of the family, and especially 
the confidants of the Borgias : the Spaniards, Juan Lopez, 
Caranza, and Marades ; and among the Romans, the Orsini, 
Porcari, Cesarini, and Barberini. The cardinal himself 
was an exceedingly abstemious man, but magnificent in 
everything which concerned the pomp and ceremonial of 
his position. The chief requirement of a cardinal of that 
day was to own a princely residence and to have a numer- 
ous household. 

Rodrigo Borgia was one of the wealthiest princes of 
the Church, and he maintained the palace and pomp of a 
great noble. His contemporary Jacopo of Volterra, gave 
the following description of him about 1486 : ' ' He is a man 
of an intellect capable of everything and of great sense; 
he is a ready speaker; he is of an astute nature, and has 
wonderful skill in conducting affairs. He is enormously 
wealthy, and the favor accorded him by numerous kings 
and princes lends him renown. He occupies a beautiful 
and comfortable palace which he built between the Bridge 
of S. Angelo and the Campo dei Fiore. His papal offices, 
his numerous abbeys in Italy and Spain, and his three 
bishoprics of Valencia, Portus, and Carthage yield him a 

2 17 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

vast income, and it is said that the office of vice-chancellor 
alone brings him in eight thousand gold florins. His plate, 
his pearls, his stuffs embroidered with silk and gold, and 
his books in every department of learning are very numer- 
ous, and all are of a magnificence worthy of a king or pope. 
I need not mention the innumerable bed hangings, the 
trappings for his horses, and similar things of gold, silver, 
and silk, nor his magnificent wardrobe, nor the vast amount 
of gold coin in his possession. In fact it was believed that 
he possessed more gold and riches of every sort than all 
the cardinals together, with the exception of one, Estoute- 
ville." 

Cardinal Rodrigo, therefore, was able to give his chil- 
dren the most brilliant education, while he modestly main- 
tained them as his nephews. Not until he himself had at- 
tained greatness could he bring them forth into the full 
light of day. , 

In 1482 he did not occupy his house in the Ponte quar- 
ter, perhaps because he was having it enlarged. He 
spent more of his time in the palace which Stefano Nardini 
had finished in 1475 in the Parione quarter, which is now 
known as the Palazzo del Governo Vecchio. Rodrigo was 
living here in January, 1482, as we learn from an instru- 
ment of the notary Beneimbene, — the marriage contract of 
Gianandrea Cesarini and Girolama Borgia, a natural 
daughter of the same Cardinal Rodrigo. This marriage 
was performed in the presence of the bride's father. 
Cardinals Stefano Nardini and Gianbattista Savelli, and 
the Roman nobles Virginius Orsini, Giuliano Cesarini, and 
Antonio Porcaro. 

The instrument of January, 1482, is the earliest 
authentic document we possess regarding the family life of 
Cardinal Borgia. In it he acknowledges himself to be the 

18 



LUCRETIA'S FIRST HOME 

father of the " noble demoiselle Hieronyma," and she is 
described as the sister of the " noble youth Petrus Lodo- 
vicus de Borgia, and of the infant Johannes de Borgia." 
As these two, plainly mentioned as the eldest sons, were 
natural children, it would have been improper to name 
their mother. Caesar also was passed by, as he was a child 
of only six years. 

Girolama was still a minor, being only thirteen years 
of age, and her betrothed, Giovanni Andrea, had scarcely 
reached manhood. He was a son of Gabriello Cesarini and 
Godina Colonna. By this marriage the noble house of 
Cesarini was brought into close relations with the Borgia, 
and later it derived great profit from the alliance. Their 
mutual friendship dated from the time of Calixtus, for it 
was the prothonotary Giorgio Cesarini who, on the death 
of that pope, had helped Rodrigo's brother Don Pedro 
Luis when he was forced to flee from Rome. Both Giro- 
lama and her youthful spouse died in 1483. Was she also 
a child of the mother of Lucretia and Caesar? We know 
not, but it is regarded as unlikely. Let us anticipate by 
saying that there is only a single authentic record which 
mentions Rodrigo's children and their mother together. 
This is the inscription on Vannozza's tomb in S. Maria del 
Popolo in Rome, in which she is named as the mother of 
Caesar, Giovanni, Giuffre, and Lucretia, while no mention 
is made of their older brother, Don Pedro Luis, nor of their 
sister Girolama. 

Rodrigo, moreover, had a third daughter, named Isa- 
bella, who could not have been a child of Vannozza. April 
1, 1483, he married her to a Roman nobleman, Pier- 
giovanni Mattuzi of the Parione quarter.* 

* Abstract of the marriage contract in the archives of the Capitol. 
Cred. xiv, T. 72. From an instrument of the notary Agostino Martini. 

19 



CHAPTER IV 

lucretia 's education 

The cardinal's relations with Vannozza continued until 
about 1482, for after the birth of Lucretia she presented 
him with another son, Giuffre, who was born in 1481 or 
1482. 

After that, Borgia's passion for this woman, who was 
now about forty, died out, but he continued to honor her 
as the mother of his children and as the confidant of many 
of his secrets. 

Vannozza had borne her husband, a certain Giorgio di 
Croce, a son, who was named Octavian — at least this child 
passed as his. With the cardinal's help she increased her 
revenues; in old official records she appears as the lessee 
of several taverns in Rome, and she also bought a vine- 
yard and a country house near S. Lucia in Selci in the 
Subura, apparently from the Cesarini. Even to-day the 
picturesque building with the arched passageway over 
the stairs which lead up from the Subura to S. Pietro in 
Vincoli is pointed out to travelers as the palace of Van- 
nozza or of Lucretia Borgia. Giorgio di Croce had become 
rich, and he built a chapel for himself and his family in 
S. Maria del Popolo. Both he and his son Octavian died in 
the year I486.* 

His death caused a change in Vannozza 's circumstances, 

* See Adinolfi's notice quoted by the author in his Geschichte der 
Stadt Rom im Mittelalter. 2d Aufl. vii, 312. 

20 



LUCBETIA'S EDUCATION 

the cardinal hastening to marry the mother of his children 
a second time, so that she might have a protector and a 
respectable household. The new husband was Carlo 
Canale, of Mantua. 

Before he came to Rome he had by his attainments 
acquired some reputation among the humanists of Mantua. 
There is still extant a letter to Canale, written by the 
young poet Angelo Poliziano regarding his Orfeo; 
the manuscript of this, the first attempt in the field of 
the drama which marked the renaissance of the Italian 
theater, was in the hands of Canale, who, appreciating 
the work of the faint-hearted poet, was endeavoring to en- 
courage him.* At the suggestion of Cardinal Francesco 
Gonzaga, a great patron of letters, Poliziano had written 
the poem in the short space of two days. Carlo Canale 
was the cardinal's chamberlain. The Orfeo saw the light 
in 1472. When Gonzaga died, in 1483, Canale went to 
Rome, where he entered the service of Cardinal Sclafetano, 
of Parma. As a confident and dependant of the Gonzaga 
he retained his connection with this princely house. f In 
his new position he assisted Ludovico Gonzaga, a brother of 
Francesco when he came to Rome in 1484 to receive the 
purple on his election as Bishop of Mantua. 

Borgia was acquainted with Canale while he was in the 
service of the Gonzaga, and later he met him in the house 
of Sclafetano. He selected him to be the husband of his 
widowed mistress, doubtless because Canale 's talents and 
connections would be useful to him. 

Canale, on the other hand, could have acquiesced in the 

* The letter, with the inscription " A Messer Carlo Canale," is printed 
in the edition of Milan, 1808. Angelo Poliziano, Le Stanze e l'Orfeo 
ed altre poesie. 

t In the archives of Mantua there is a letter from the Marchesa 
Isabella to Carlo Canale, dated December 4, 1499. 

21 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

suggestion to marry Vannozza only from avarice, and his 
willingness proves that he had not grown rich in his former 
places at the courts of cardinals. 

The new marriage contract was drawn up June 8, 
1486, by the notary of the Borgia house, Camillo Beneim- 
bene, and was witnessed by Francesco Maffei, apostolic 
secretary and canon of S. Peter's; Lorenzo Barberini de 
Catellinis; a citizen, Giuliano Gallo, a considerable mer- 
chant of Rome; Burcardo Barberini de Carnariis, and 
other gentlemen. As dowry Vannozza brought her hus- 
band, among other things, one thousand gold florins and 
an appointment as sollicitator bullarum. The contract 
clearly referred to this as Vannozza 's second marriage. 
Would it not have been set down as the third, or in more 
general terms as new, if the alleged first marriage with Do- 
menico d'Arignano had really been acknowledged? 

In this instrument Vannozza 's house on the Piazza de 
Branchis, in the Regola quarter, where the marriage 
took place, is described as her domicile. The piazza 
still bears this name, which is derived from the extinct 
Branca family. After the death of her former hus- 
band she must, therefore, have moved from the house 
on the Piazza Pizzo di Merlo and taken up her abode 
in the one on the Piazza Branca. This house may have 
belonged to her, for her second husband seems to have 
been a man without means, who hoped to make his fortune 
by his marriage and with the protection of the powerful 
cardinal. 

From a letter of Ludovico Gonzaga, dated February 19, 
1488, we learn that this new marriage of Vannozza 's was 
not childless. In this epistle, the Bishop of Mantua 
asks his agent in Rome to act as godfather in his stead, 
Carlo Canale having chosen him for this honor. The letter 

22 



LUCRETIA'S EDUCATION 

gives no further particulars, but it can mean nothing 
else.* 

We do not know at just what time Lucretia, in accord- 
ance with the cardinal's provision, left her mother's house 
and passed under the protection of a woman who exercised 
great influence upon him and upon the entire Borgia 
family. 

This woman was Adriana, of the house of Mila, a 
daughter of Don Pedro, who was a nephew of Calixtus III, 
and first cousin of Rodrigo. What position he held in 
Rome we do not know. 

He married his daughter Adriana to Ludovico, a mem- 
ber of the noble house of Orsini, and lord of Bassanello, 
near Civita Castellana. As the offspring of this union, 
Orsino Orsini, married in 1489, it is evident that his mother 
must have entered into wedlock at least sixteen years be- 
fore. Ludovico Orsini died in 1489 or earlier. As his wife, 
and later as his widow, Adriana occupied one of the Orsini 
palaces in Rome, probably the one on Monte Giordano, near 
the Bridge of S. Angelo, this palace having subsequently 
been described as part of the estate which her son Orsino 
inherited. 

Cardinal Rodrigo maintained the closest relations with 
Adriana. She was more than his kinswoman; she was the 
confidant of his sins, of his intrigues and plans, and such 
she remained until the day of his death. 

To her he entrusted the education of his daughter Lu- 
cretia during her childhood, as we learn from a letter 
written by the Ferrarese ambassador to Rome, Gianandrea 

* Lodovico Gonzaga to Bartolomeo Erba, Siamo contenti contrahi in 
nome nro. compaternita cum M. Carolo Canale, et cussi per questa nostra 
ti commettiamo et constituimo nostro Procuratore. Note by Afio in his 
introduction to the Orfeo, p. 113. 

23 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Boccaccio, Bishop of Modena, to the Duke Ercole in 1493, 
in which he remarks of Madonna Adriana Ursina, " that 
she had educated Lueretia in her own house. ' ' * This 
doubtless was the Orsini palace on Monte Giordano, which 
was close to Cardinal Borgia's residence. 

According to the Italian custom, which has survived to 
the present day, the education of the daughters was en- 
trusted to women in convents, where the young girls were 
required to pass a few years, afterwards to come forth into 
the world to be married. If, however, Infessura's pic- 
ture of the convents of Rome is a faithful one, the cardinal 
was wise in hesitating to entrust his daughter to these 
saints. Nevertheless there certainly were convents which 
were free from immorality, such, for example, as S. Sil- 
vestro in Capite, where many of the daughters of the 
Colonna were educated, and S. Maria Nuova and S. Sisto 
on the Appian Way. On one occasion during the papacy 
of Alexander, Lueretia chose the last named convent as an 
asylum, perhaps because she had there received her early 
spiritual education. 

Religious instruction was always the basis of the edu- 
cation of the women of Italy. It, however, consisted not in 
the cultivation of heart and soul, but in a strict observance 
of the forms of religion. Sin made no woman repulsive, 
and the condition of even the most degraded female did not 
prevent her from performing all her church duties, and 

* M a Adriana Ursina, la quale e socera de la dicta madona Julia 
(Farnese), che ha sempre governata essa sposa (Lucrezia) in casa propria 
per esser in loco de nepote del Pontifice, la fu flgliola de messer Piedro 
de Mila, noto a V. Ema Sig™*, cusino carnale del Papa. Despatch from 
the above named to Ercole, Rome, June 13, 1493, in the state archives 
of Modena. And again she is mentioned in a despatch of May 6, 1493, 
as madona Adriana Ursina soa governatrice figliola che fu del quondam 
messer Pietro del Mila. 

24 



LUCRETIA'S EDUCATION 

appearing to be a well-trained Christian. There were no 
women skeptics or freethinkers; they would have been im- 
possible in the society of that day. The godless tyrant 
Sigismondo Malatesta of Rimini built a magnificent church, 
and in it a chapel in honor of his beloved Isotta, who was 
a regular attendant at church. Vannozza built and embel- 
lished a chapel in S. Maria del Popolo. She had a reputa- 
tion for piety, even during the life of Alexander VI. Her 
greatest maternal solicitude, like that of Adriana, was to 
inculcate a Christian deportment in her daughter, and this 
Lucretia possessed in such perfection that subsequently a 
Ferrarese ambassador lauded her for her ' saintly de- 
meanor. ' 

It is wrong to regard this bearing simply as a mask; 
for that would presuppose an independent consideration of 
religious questions or a moral process which was altogether 
foreign to the women of that age, and is still unknown 
among the women of Italy. There religion was, and still 
is, a part of education; it consisted in a high respect for 
form and was of small ethical worth. 

The daughters of the well-to-do families did not receive 
instruction in the humanities in the convents, but probably 
from the same teachers to whom the education of the sons 
was entrusted. It is no exaggeration to say that the 
women of the better classes during the fifteenth and 
sixteenth centuries were as well educated as are the 
women of to-day. Their education was not broad; it 
was limited to a few branches; for then they did not 
have the almost inexhaustible means of improvement 
which, thanks to the evolution of the human mind during 
the last three hundred years, we now enjoy. The educa- 
tion of the women of the Renaissance was based upon clas- 
sical antiquity, in comparison with which everything which 

25 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

could then be termed modern was insignificant. They 
might, therefore, have been described as scholarly. Femi- 
nine education is now entirely different, as it is derived 
wholly from modern sources of culture. It is precisely its 
many-sidedness to which is due the superficiality of the 
education of contemporary woman when compared with 
that of her sister of the Renaissance. 

The education of women at the present time, generally, 
— even in Germany, which is famous for its schools, — is 
without solid foundation, and altogether superficial and 
of no real worth. It consists usually in acquiring a 
smattering of two modern tongues and learning to play 
the piano, to which a wholly unreasonable amount of 
time is devoted. 

During the Renaissance the piano was unknown, but 
every educated woman performed upon the lute, which had 
the advantage that, in the hands of the lady playing it, it 
presented an agreeable picture to the eyes, while the piano 
is only a machine which compels the man or the woman who 
is playing it to go through motions which are always un- 
pleasant and often ridiculous. During the Renaissance the 
novel showed only its first beginnings; and even to-day 
Italy is the country which produces and reads the fewest 
romances. There were stories from the time of Boc- 
caccio, but very few. Vast numbers of poems were writ- 
ten, but half of them in Latin. Printing and the book 
trade were in their infancy. The theater likewise was in 
its childhood, and, as a rule, dramatic performances were 
given only once a year, during the carnival, and then only 
on private stages. What we now call universal literature 
or culture consisted at that time in the passionate study of 
the classics. Latin and Greek held the place then which 
the study of foreign languages now occupies in the educa- 

26 



LUCRETIA'S EDUCATION 

tion of women. The Italians of the Renaissance did not 
think that an acquaintance with the classics, that scientific 
knowledge destroyed the charm of womanliness, nor that 
the education of women should be less advanced than that 
of men. This opinion, like so many others prevalent in 
society is of Teutonic origin. The loving dominion of the 
mother in the family circle has always seemed to the Ger- 
manic races to be the realization of the ideal of womanli- 
ness. For a long time German women avoided publicity 
owing to modesty or a feeling of decorum. Their talents 
remained hidden except in cases where peculiar circum- 
stances — sometimes connected with affairs of court or 
of state — compelled them to come forth. Until recently 
the history of German civilization has shown a much 
smaller number of famous female characters than Italy, 
the land of strong personalities, produced during the 
Renaissance. The influence which gifted women in the 
Italian salons of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and 
later in those of France, exercised upon the intellectual 
development of society was completely unknown in Eng- 
land and Germany. 

Later, however, there was a change in the relative 
degree of feminine culture in Teutonic and Latin countries. 
In the former it rose, while in Italy it declined. The Ital- 
ian woman who, during the Renaissance, occupied a place 
by man's side, contended with him for intellectual prizes, 
and took part in every spiritual movement, fell into the 
background. During the last two hundred years she has 
taken little or no part in the higher life of the nation, for 
long ago she became a mere tool in the hands of the priests. 
The Reformation gave the German woman greater personal 
freedom. Especially since the beginning of the eighteenth 
century have Germany and England produced numbers of 

27 



LUCEETIA BOBGIA 

highly cultivated and even learned women. The super- 
ficiality of the education of woman in general in Germany 
is not the fault of the Church, but of the fashion, of 
society, and also of lack of means in our families. 

A learned woman, whom men are more apt to fear than 
respect, is called, when she writes books, a blue-stocking. 
During the Renaissance she was called a virago, a title 
which was perfectly complimentary. Jacopo da Bergamo 
constantly uses it as a term of respect in his work, Con- 
cerning Celebrated Women, which he wrote in 1496.* 
Rarely do we find this word used by Italians in the sense 
in which we now employ it, — namely, termigant or 
amazon. At that time a virago was a woman who, by her 
courage, understanding, and attainments, raised herself 
above the masses of her sex. And she was still more ad- 
mired if in addition to these qualities she possessed beauty 
and grace. Profound classic learning among the Italians 
was not opposed to feminine charm ; on the contrary, it en- 
hanced it. Jacopo da Bergamo specially praises it in this or 
that woman, saying that whenever she appeared in public 
as a poet or an orator, it was above all else her modesty and 
reserve which charmed her hearers. In this vein he 
eulogizes Cassandra Fedeli, while he lauds Ginevra Sforza 
for her elegance of form, her wonderful grace in every 
motion, her calm and queenly bearing, and her chaste 
beauty. He discovers the same in the wife of Alfonso of 
Aragon, Ippolita Sforza, who possessed the highest attain- 
ments, the most brilliant eloquence, a rare beauty, and 
extreme feminine modesty. What was then called mod- 
esty (pudor) was the natural grace of a gifted woman in- 
creased by education and association. This modesty Lu- 
cretia Borgia possessed in a high degree. In woman it 
* Jacobus Burgomensis de Claris mulieribus, Paris, 1521. 
28 



LUCRETIA'S EDUCATION 

corresponded with that which in man was the mark of the 
perfect cavalier. It may cause the reader some astonish- 
ment to learn that the contemporaries of the infamous 
Caesar spoke of his ' moderation ' as one of his most charac- 
teristic traits. By this term, however, we must under- 
stand the cultivation of the personality in which modera- 
tion in man and modesty in woman were part and 
manifestations of a liberal education. 

It is true that in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries 
emancipated women did not sit on the benches of the 
lecture halls of Bologna, Ferrara, and Padua, as they now 
do in many universities, to pursue professional studies ; but 
the same humane sciences to which youths and men devoted 
themselves were a requirement in the higher education of 
women. Little girls in the Middle Ages were entrusted to 
the saints of the convents to be made nuns; during the 
Renaissance parents consecrated gifted children to the 
Muses. Jacopo da Bergamo, speaking of Trivulzia of 
Milan, a contemporary of Lucretia, who excited great 
amazement as an orator when she was only fourteen years 
of age, says, " When her parents noticed the child's ex- 
traordinary gifts they dedicated her to the Muses — this 
was in her seventh year — for her education." 

The course of study followed by women at that time 
included the classic languages and their literature, oratory, 
poetry, or the art of versifying, and music. Dilettanteism 
in the graphic and plastic arts of course followed, and the 
vast number of paintings and statues produced during the 
Renaissance inspired every cultivated woman in Italy with 
a desire to become a connoisseur. 

Even philosophy and theology were cultivated by 
women. Debates on questions in these fields of inquiry 
were the order of the day at the courts and in the halls 

29 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

of the universities, and women endeavored to acquire 
renown by taking part in them. At the end of the fif- 
teenth century the Venetian, Cassandra Fedeli, the wonder 
of her age, was as well versed in philosophy and theology 
as a learned man. She once engaged in a public disputa- 
tion before the Doge Agostino Barbarigo, and also several 
times in the audience hall of Padua, and always showed 
the utmost modesty in spite of the applause of her 
hearers. The beautiful wife of Alessandro Sforza of 
Pesaro, Costanza Varano, was a poet, an orator, and 
a philosopher; she wrote a number of learned disserta- 
tions. " The writings of Augustinus, Ambrosius, Jerome, 
and Gregory, of Seneca, Cicero, and Lactantius were 
always in her hands." Her daughter, Battista Sforza, 
the noble spouse of the cultivated Federico of Urbino, 
was equally learned. So, too, it was related that the cele- 
brated Isotta Nugarola of Verona was thoroughly at home 
in the writings of the fathers and of the philosophers. 
Isabella Gonzaga and Elisabetta of Urbino were likewise 
acquainted with them, as were numerous other celebrated 
women, such as Vittoria Colonna and Veronica Gambara. 

These and other names show to what heights the edu- 
cation of woman during the Renaissance attained, and even 
if the accomplishments of these women were exceptional, 
the studies which they so earnestly pursued were part of 
the curriculum of all the daughters of the best families. 
These studies were followed only for the purpose of per- 
fecting and beautifying the personality. Conversation 
in the modern salon is so excessively dull that it is 
necessary to fill in the emptiness with singing and piano 
playing. Still the symposiums of Plato were not always 
the order of the day in the drawing-rooms of the Renais- 
sance, and it must be admitted that their social disputations 

30 




VITTORIA COLONNA. 
From an engraving by P. Caronni. 



LUCRETIA'S EDUCATION 

would cause us intolerable weariness; however, tastes were 
different at that time. In a circle of distinguished and 
gifted persons, to carry on a conversation gracefully and 
intelligently, and to give it a classic cast by introducing 
quotations from the ancients, or to engage in a discussion 
in dialogue on a chosen theme, afforded the keenest enjoy- 
ment. It was the conversation of the Renaissance which 
attained later to such aesthetic perfection in France. Tal- 
leyrand called this form of human intercourse man's great- 
est and most beautiful blessing. The classic dialogue was 
revived, with only the difference that cultivated women 
also took part in it. As samples of the refined social inter- 
course of that age, we have Castiglione's Cortegiano and 
Bembo's Asolani, which was dedicated to Lucretia Borgia. 
Alexander's daughter did not occupy a preeminent 
place among the Italian women renowned for classical 
attainments, her own acquirements not being such as to 
distinguish her from the majority; but, considering the 
times, her education was thorough. She had received in- 
struction in the languages, in music, and in drawing, and 
later the people of Ferrara were amazed at the skill and 
taste which she displayed in embroidering in silk and gold. 
" She spoke Spanish, Greek, Italian, and French, and a 
little Latin, very correctly, and she wrote and composed 
poems in all these tongues," said the biographer Bayard 
in 1512. Lucretia must have perfected her education later, 
during the quiet years of her life, under the influence of 
Bembo and Strozzi, although she doubtless had laid its 
foundation in Rome. She was both a Spaniard and an 
Italian, and a perfect master of these two languages. 
Among her letters to Bembo there are two written in Span- 
ish; the remainder, of which we possess several hundred, 
are composed in the Italian of that day, and are spontane- 

31 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ous and graceful in style. The contents of none of them 
are of importance; they display soul and feeling, but no 
depth of mind. Her handwriting is not uniform; some- 
times it has strong lines which remind us of the striking, 
energetic writing of her father; at others it is sharp and 
fine like that of Vittoria Colonna. 

None of Lucretia's letters indicate that she fully under- 
stood Latin, and her father once stated that she had not 
mastered that language. She must, however, have been 
able to read it when written, for otherwise Alexander could 
not have made her his representative in the Vatican, with 
authority to open letters received. Nor were her Hellenic 
studies very profound; still she was not wholly ig- 
norant of Greek. In her childhood, schools for the study 
of Hellenic literature still flourished in Rome, where they 
had been established by Chrysoleras and Bessarion. In 
the city were many Greeks, some of whom were fugitives 
from their country, while others had come to Italy with 
Queen Carlotta of Cyprus. Until her death, in 1487, this 
royal adventuress lived in a palace in the Borgo of the 
Vatican, where she held court, and where she doubtless 
gathered about her the cultivated people of Rome, just as 
the learned Queen Christina of Sweden did later. It was 
in her house that Cardinal Rodrigo made the acquaint- 
ance, besides that of other noble natives of Cyprus, of 
Ludovico Podocatharo, a highly cultivated man, afterwards 
his secretary. He it was, probably, who instructed Borgia 's 
children in Greek. 

In the cardinal's palace there was also a humanist 
of German birth, Lorenz Behaim, of Nurenburg, who 
managed his household for twenty years. As he was a 
Latinist and a member of the Roman Academy of Pom- 
ponius Laetus, he must have exercised some influence on 

32 



LUCBETIA'S EDUCATION 

the education of his master's children. Generally there 
was no lack of professors of the humane sciences in Rome, 
where they were in a flourishing condition, and the Acad- 
emy as well as the University attracted thither many 
talented men. In the papal city there were numerous 
teachers who conducted schools, and swarms of young 
scholars, ambitious academicians, sought their fortune at 
the courts of the cardinals in the capacity of companions 
or secretaries, or as preceptors to their illegitimate chil- 
dren. Lucretia, also, received instruction in classic litera- 
ture from these masters. Among the poets who lived in 
Rome she found teachers to instruct her in Italian ver- 
sification and in writing sonnets, an art which was every- 
where cultivated by women as well as men. She doubtless 
learned to compose verses, although the writers on the 
history of Italian literature, Quadrio and Crescimbeni, do 
not place her among the poets of the peninsula. Nowhere 
do Bembo, Aldus, or the Strozzi speak of her as a poet, nor 
are there any verses by her in existence. It is not certain 
that even the Spanish canzoni which are found in some of 
her letters to Bembo were composed by her. 



33 



CHAPTER V 

NEPOTISM — GIULIA FARNESE — LUCRETIA's BETROTHALS 

1 

It is not difficult to imagine what emotions were 
aroused in Lueretia when she first became aware of the 
real condition of her family. Her mother's husband was 
not her father; she discovered that she and her brothers 
were the children of a cardinal, and the awakening of her 
conscience was accompanied by a realization of circum- 
stances which — frowned on by the Church — it was neces- 
sary to conceal from the world. She herself had always 
hitherto been treated as a niece of the cardinal, and she 
now beheld in her father one of the most prominent princes 
of the Church of Rome, whom she heard mentioned as a 
future pope. 

The knowledge of the great advantages to be derived 
from these circumstances certainly must have affected Lu- 
eretia 's fancy much more actively than the conception of 
their immorality. The world in which she lived concerned 
itself but little with moral scruples, and rarely in the his- 
tory of mankind has there been a time in which the theory 
that it is proper to obtain the greatest possible profit from 
existing conditions has been so generally accepted. She 
soon learned how common were these relations in Rome. 
She heard that most of the cardinals lived with their mis- 
tresses, and provided in a princely way for their children. 
They told her about those of Cardinal Giuliano della Ro- 
vere and those of Piccolomini; she saw with her own eyes 

34 



NEPOTISM 

the sons and daughters of Estouteville, and heard of the 
baronies which their wealthy father had acquired for 
them in the Alban mountains. She saw the children of 
Pope Innocent raised to the highest honors; to her were 
pointed out his son Franceschetto Cibd and his illustrious 
spouse Maddalena Medici. She knew that the Vatican 
was the home of other children and grandchildren of 
the Pope, and she frequently saw his daughter Madonna 
Teodorina, the consort of the Genoese Uso di Mare, 
going and coming. She was eight years old when his 
daughter Donna Peretta was married in the Vatican to 
the Marchese Alfonso del Carretto with such magnificent 
pomp that it set all Rome to talking. 

Lucretia first became conscious of the position to which 
she and her brothers might be called by their birth when 
she learned that her eldest brother, Don Pedro Luis, was a 
Spanish duke. "We do not know when the young Borgia 
was raised to this dignity, but it was some time after 1482. 
The strong ties which existed between the cardinal and 
the Spanish court doubtless enabled him to have his son 
created Duke of Gandia in the kingdom of Valencia. As 
Mariana remarks, he bought this dukedom for his son. 

Don Pedro Luis, however, when still a young man, died 
in Spain, for a document of the year 1491 speaks of him 
as deceased, and mentions a legacy left by his will to his 
sister Lucretia. The duchy of Gandia passed to Rodrigo's 
second son, Don Giovanni, who hastened to Valencia to 
take possession of it. 

Meanwhile the fancy of the licentious cardinal had 
turned to other women. In May, 1489, when Lucretia was 
nine years old, appears for the first time the most cele- 
brated of his mistresses, Giulia Farnese, a young woman 
of extraordinary beauty, to whose charms the cardinal 

35 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

and future pope, who was growing old, yielded with all 
the ardor of a young man. 

It was the adulterous love of this Giulia which first 
brought the Farnese house into the history of Rome, and 
subsequently into that of the world; for Rodrigo Borgia 
laid the foundation of the greatness of this family when 
he made Giulia 's brother Alessandro a cardinal. In this 
manner he prepared the way to the papacy for the future 
Paul III, the founder of the house of Farnese of Parma, 
a distinguished family which died out in 1758 in the per- 
son of Queen Elisabeth, who occupied the throne of 
Spain. 

The Farnese, up to the time of the Borgias, were of no 
importance in Rome, where two of the most beautiful build- 
ings of the Renaissance have since helped to make their 
name immortal. They did not even live in Rome, but in 
Roman Etruria, where they owned a few towns — Farneto, 
from which, doubtless, their name was derived, Ischia, 
Capracola, and Capodimonte. Some time later, though 
just when is not known, they were temporarily in posses- 
sion of Isola Farnese, an ancient castle in the ruins of Veii, 
which from the fourteenth century had belonged to the 
Orsini. 

The origin of the Farnese family is uncertain, but the 
tradition, according to which they were descended from 
the Lombards or the Franks, appears to be true. It is sup- 
ported by the fact that the name Ranuccio, which is the 
Italian form of Rainer, is of frequent occurrence in the 
family. The Farnese became prominent in Etruria as 
a small dynasty of robber barons, without, however, being 
able to attain to the power of their neighbors, the Orsini of 
Anguillara and Bracciano, and the famous Counts of Vico, 
who were of German descent and who ruled over the Tus- 

36 



GIULIA FARNESE 

can prefecture for more than a hundred years, until that 
country was swallowed up by Eugene IV. While these 
prefects were the most active Ghibellines and the bitterest 
enemies of the popes, the Farnese, like the Este, always 
stood by the Guelphs. From the eleventh century they 
were consuls and podestas in Orvieto, and they appeared 
later in various places as captains of the Church in the 
numerous little wars with the cities and barons in Umbria 
and in the domain of S. Peter. Ranuccio, Giulia's grand- 
father, was one of the ablest of the generals of Eugene IV, 
and he had been a comrade of the great tyrant-conqueror 
Vitelleschi, and through him his house had won great 
renown. His son, Pierluigi, married Donna Giovan- 
ella of the Gaetani family of Sermoneta. His children 
were , Alessandro, Bartolomeo, Angiolo, Girolama, and 
Giulia. 

Alessandro Farnese, born February 28, 1468, was a 
young man of intellect and culture, but notorious for his 
unbridled passions. He had his own mother committed to 
prison in 1487 under the gravest charges, whereupon he 
himself was confined in the castle of S. Angelo by Innocent 
VIII. He escaped from prison, and the matter was allowed 
to drop. He was a prothonotary of the Church. His elder 
sister was married to Puccio Pucci, one of the most il- 
lustrious statesmen of Florence, a member of a large 
family which was on terms of close friendship with the 
Medici. 

On the twentieth of May, 1489, the youthful Giulia 
Farnese, together with the equally youthful Orsino Orsini, 
appeared in the ' ' Star Chamber ' ' of the Borgia palace to 
sign their marriage contract. It is worthy of note that this 
occurred in the house of Cardinal Rodrigo. His name 
appears as the first of the witnesses to this document, as if 

37 



LUCRETIA BOEGIA 

he had constituted himself the protector of the couple and 
had brought about their marriage. This union, however, 
had been arranged when the betrothed were minors, by 
their parents, Ludovico Orsini, lord of Bassanello, and 
Pierluigi Farnese, both of whom had died before 1489. In 
those days little children were often legally betrothed, and 
the marriage was consummated later, as was the custom 
in ancient Rome, where frequently boys and girls only 
thirteen years of age were affianced. Giulia was barely 
fifteen, May 20, 1489, and she was still under the guardian- 
ship of her brothers and her uncles of the house of Gaetani ; 
while the young Orsini was under the control of his mother, 
Adriana, who was Adriana de Mila, the kinswoman of 
Cardinal Rodrigo, and Lucretia's governess. This, there- 
fore, sufficiently explains the part, personal and official, 
which the cardinal took in the ceremony of Giulia 's be- 
trothal. 

The witnesses to the marriage contract, which was drawn 
up by the notary Beneimbene, were, in addition to the 
cardinal, Bishop Martini of Segovia, the Spanish Can- 
ons Garcetto and Caranza, and a Roman nobleman named 
Giovanni Astalli. The bride's brothers should have sup- 
ported her, but only the younger, Angiolo, was present, 
Alessandro remaining away. His failure to attend such an 
important family function in the Borgia palace is strange, 
although it may have been occasioned by some accident. 
The bride's uncles, the prothonotary Giacomo, and his 
brother Don Nicola Gaetani were present. Giulia 's dowry 
consisted of three thousand gold florins, a large amount for 
that time. 

The civil marriage of the young couple took place the 
following day, May 21st, in this same palace of the Borgias. 
Many great nobles were present, among whom were spe- 

38 



GIULIA FARNESE 

cially mentioned the kinsmen of the groom, Cardinal Gian- 
battista Orsini and Raynaldo Orsini, Archbishop of Flor- 
ence. The young couple, as the season was charming, may 
have gone to Castle Bassanello, or, if not, may have taken 
up their abode in the Orsini palace on Monte Giordano. 

Before her marriage Cardinal Rodrigo must have 
known, and often seen Giulia Farnese in the palace of 
Madonna Adriana, the mother of the young Orsini. There, 
likewise, Lucretia, who was several years younger, made 
her acquaintance. Like Lucretia, Giulia had golden hair, 
and her beauty won for her the name La Bella. It was 
in Adriana 's house that this tender, lovely child became 
ensnared in the coils of the libertine Rodrigo. She suc- 
cumbed to his seductions either shortly before or soon 
after her marriage to the young Orsini. Perhaps she first 
aroused the passion of the cardinal, a man at that time 
fifty-eight years old, when she stood before him in his 
palace a bride in the full bloom of youth. Be that 
as it may, it is certain that two years after her marriage 
Giulia was the cardinal's acknowledged mistress. When 
Madonna Adriana discovered the liason she winked at it, 
and was an accessory to the shame of her daughter-in-law. 
By so doing she became the most powerful and the most 
influential person in the house of Borgia. 

Two of the three sons of the cardinal, Giovanni and 
Caesar, had in the meantime reached manhood. In 
1490 neither of them was in Rome; the former was in 
Spain, and the latter was studying at the University of 
Perugia, which he later left for Pisa. As early as 1488 
Caesar must have attended one of these institutions, prob- 
ably the University of Perugia, for in that year Paolo Pom- 
pilio dedicated to him his Syllabica, a work on the art 
of versification. In it he lauded the budding genius of 

39 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Caesar, who was the hope and ornament of the house of 
Borgia, his progress in the sciences, and his maturity of 
intellect — astonishing in one so young — and he predicted 
his future fame.* 

His father had intended him for the Church, although 
Caesar himself felt for it nothing but aversion. From Inno- 
cent VIII he had secured his son's appointment as pro- 
thonotary of the Church and even as Bishop of Pam- 
plona. He appears as a prothonotary in a document of 
February, 1491, and at the same time the youngest of 
Kodrigo's sons, Giuffre, a boy of about nine years, was 
made Canon and Archdeacon of Valencia. 

Caesar went to Pisa, probably in 1491. Its university 
attracted a great many of the sons of the prominent Italian 
families, chiefly on account of the fame of its professor of 
jurisprudence, Philippo Decio of Milan. At the university 
the young Borgia had two Spanish companions, who were 
favorites of his father, Francesco Romolini of Ilerda and 
Juan Vera of Arcilla in the kingdom of Valencia. The 
latter was master of his household, as Caesar himself 
states in a letter written in October, 1492, in which he also 
calls Romolini his ' ' most faithful comrade. ' ' f Francesco 
Romolini was more than thirty years of age in 1491. He 
was a diligent student of law, and became deeply learned 
in it. He is the same Romolini who afterwards con- 
ducted the prosecution of Savonarola in Florence. In 

* Accedit studium illud tuum et perquam fertile bonarum litterarum 
in quo hac in aetate seris. . . . Non deerit surgenti tuae virtuti 
commodus aliquando et idoneus praeco. — At tu Caesar profecto non 
parum laudandus es ; qui in hac aetate tarn facile senera agis. Perge 
nostri temporis Borgia? familise spes et decus. Introduction to the 
Syllabica. Rome, 1488. Gennarelli's Edition of Burchard's Diary. 

\ Regarding Caesar's studies at Pisa, see Angelo Fabroni, Hist. 
Acad. Pisan. i, 160, 201. 

40 



LUCRETIA'S BETROTHALS 

1503 Alexander made him a cardinal, to which dignity 
Vera had been raised in 1500. His father's wealth enabled 
the youthful Caesar to live in Pisa in princely style, and 
his connections brought him into friendly relations with 
the Medici. 

The cardinal was still making special exertions to 
further the fortunes of his children in Spain. Even for 
his daughter Lucretia he could see no future more brilliant 
than a Spanish marriage; and he must indeed have re- 
garded it as a special act of condescension for the son of 
an old and noble house to consent to become the hus- 
band of the illegitimate daughter of a cardinal. The noble 
concerned was Don Cherubino Juan de Centelles, lord of 
Val d'Ayora in the kingdom of Valencia, and brother of 
the Count of Oliva. 

The nuptial contract was drawn up in the Valencian 
dialect in Rome, February 26 and June 16, 1491. The 
youthful groom was in Valencia, the young bride in Rome, 
and her father had appointed the Roman nobleman An- 
tonio Porcaro her proxy. In the marriage contract it was 
specified that Lucretia 's portion should be three hundred 
thousand timbres or sous in Valencian money, which she 
was to bring Don Cherubino as dowry, part in coin and 
part in jewels and other valuables. It was specially stated 
that of this sum eleven thousand timbres should consist of 
the amount bequeathed by the will of the deceased Don 
Pedro Luis de Borgia, Duke of Gandia, to his sister for her 
marriage portion, while eight thousand were given her by 
her other brothers, Caesar and Giuffre*, for the same pur- 
pose, presumably also from the estate left by the brother. 
It was provided that Donna Lucretia should be taken to 
Valencia at the cardinal 's expense within one year from the 
signing of the contract, and that the church ceremony 

41 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

should be performed within six months after her arrival 
in Spain.* 

Thus Lucretia, when only a child eleven years of age, 
found her hand and life happiness subjected to the will of 
another, and from that time she was no longer the shaper 
of her own destiny. This was the usual fate of the 
daughters of the great houses, and even of the lesser 
ones. Shortly before her father became pope it seemed as 
if her life was to be spent in Spain, and she would have 
found no place in the history of the papacy and of Italy if 
she and Don Cherubino had been married. However, the 
marriage was never performed. Obstacles of which we 
are ignorant, or changes in the plans of her father, caused 
the betrothal of Lucretia to Don Cherubino to be annulled. 
At the very moment this was being done for her by proxy, 
her father was planning another alliance for his daughter. 

The husband he had selected, Don Gasparo, was also a 
young Spaniard, son of Don Juan Francesco of Procida, 
Count of Aversa. This family had probably removed to 
Naples with the house of Aragon. Don Juan Francesco's 
mother was Donna Leonora de Procida y Castelleta, 
Countess of Aversa. Gasparo 's father lived in Aversa, 
but in 1491 the son was in Valencia, where, probably, he 
was being educated under the care of some of his kinsmen, 
for he was still a boy of less than fifteen years. In an in- 
strument drawn by the notary Beneimbene, dated Novem- 
ber 9, 1492, it is explicitly stated that on the thirtieth of 
April of the preceding year, 1491, the marriage contract of 
Lucretia and Gasparo had been executed by proxy with all 
due form, and that in it Cardinal Rodrigo had bound him- 
self to send his daughter to the city of Valencia at his 

* On June 16, 1491, some changes were made in this contract, which 
Beneimbene has noted in the same protocol-book. 

42 



LUCRETIA'S BETROTHALS 

expense, where the church ceremony was to be performed. 
However, since the marriage contract between Lucretia 
and the young Centelles had been legally executed on the 
twenty-sixth of February of the same year, 1491, and was 
recognized as late as the following June, there is room for 
doubt regarding the correctness of the date; but both the 
instrument in Beneimbene's protocol-book, and an abstract 
of the same in the archives of the Hospital Sancta Sanc- 
torum in Rome, give the last of April as the date of the 
marriage contract of Lucretia and Don Gasparo. In these 
proceedings her proxies were, not Antonio Porcaro, but 
Don Giuffre Borgia, Baron of Villa Longa, the Canon 
Jacopo Serra of Valencia, and the vicar-general of the 
same place, Mateo Cucia. Hence follows the curious fact 
that Lucretia was the betrothed at one and the same time 
of two young Spaniards. 

In spite of the rejection of her first affianced, the 
Centelles family appears to have remained on good terms 
with the Borgias, for, later, when Rodrigo became Pope, 
a certain Gulielmus de Centelles is to be found among his 
most trusted chamberlains, while Raymondo of the same 
house was prothonotary and treasurer of Perugia. 



43 



CHAPTER VI 

HER FATHER BECOMES POPE — GIOVANNI SFORZA 

On July 25, 1492, occurred the event to which the 
Borgias had long eagerly looked forward, the death of In- 
nocent VIII. Above all the other candidates for the 
Papacy were four cardinals: Eafael Riario and Giuliano 
della Rovere — both powerful nephews of Sixtus IV — As- 
canio Sforza, and Rodrigo Borgia. 

Before the election was decided there were days of 
feverish expectation for the cardinal's family. Of his 
children only Lucretia and Giuffre were in Rome at the 
time, and both were living with Madonna Adriana. Van- 
nozza was occupying her own house with her husband, 
Canale, who for some time had held the office of secretary 
of the penitentiary court. She was now fifty years old, 
and there was but one event to which she looked forward, 
and upon it depended the gratification of her greatest wish ; 
namely, to see her children 's father ascend the papal throne. 
What prayers and vows she and Madonna Adriana, Lucre- 
tia, and Giulia Farnese must have made to the saints for 
the fulfilment of that wish! 

Early on the morning of August 11th breathless mes- 
sengers brought these women the news from the Vatican — 
Rodrigo Borgia had won the great prize. To him, the 
highest bidder, the papacy had been sold. In the election, 
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza had turned the scale, and for his 
reward he received the city of Nepi, the office of vice- 

44 




ALEXANDER VI. 
From an engraving published in 1580. 



HER FATHER BECOMES POPE 

chancellor, and the Borgia palace, which ever since has 
borne the name Sforza-Cesarini. 

On the morning of this momentous day, when Alex- 
ander VI was carried from the conclave hall to S. Peter's 
there to receive the first expressions of homage, his joyful 
glance discovered many of his kinsmen in the dense crowd, 
for thither they had hastened to celebrate his great tri- 
umph. It was a long time since Rome had beheld a pope 
of such majesty, of such beauty of person. His conduct 
was notorious throughout the city, and no one knew him 
better in that hour than that woman, Vannozza Catanei, 
who was kneeling in S. Peter's during the mass, her soul 
filled with the memories of a sinful past. 

Borgia's election did not cause all the Powers anxiety. 
In Milan, Ludovico il Moro celebrated the event with pub- 
lic festivals; he now hoped to become, through the in- 
fluence of his brother Ascanio, a " half pope." While the 
Medici expected much from Alexander, the Aragonese of 
Naples looked for little. Bitterly did Venice express her- 
self. Her ambassador in Milan publicly declared in 
August that the papacy had been sold by simony and a 
thousand deceptions, and that the signory of Venice was 
convinced that France and Spain would refuse to obey the 
Pope when they learned of these enormities.* 

In the meantime, Alexander VI had received the pro- 
fessions of loyalty of all the Italian States, together with 
their profuse expressions of homage. The festival of his 
coronation was celebrated with unparalleled pomp, August 
26th. The Borgia arms, a grazing steer, was displayed so 

* Cum simonia et mille ribalderie et inhonestate si e venduto il Pon- 
tificate* che e cose ignominiosa et detestabile. Despatch of Giacomo 
Trotti, Ambassador of Ferrara in Milan, to the Duke Ercole, August 28» 
1492, in the archives of Modena. 

45 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

generally in the decorations, and was the subject of so 
many epigrams, that a satirist remarked that Rome was 
celebrating the discovery of the Sacred Apis. Subse- 
quently the Borgia bull was frequently the object of the 
keenest satire; but at the beginning of Alexander's reign 
it was, naively enough, the pictorial embodiment of the 
Pope's magnificence. To-day such symbolism would excite 
only derision and mirth, but the plastic taste of the 
Italian of that day was not offended by it. 

When Alexander, on his triumphal journey to the 
Lateran, passed the palace of his fanatical adherents, the 
Porcari, one of the boys of the family declaimed with much 
pathos some stanzas which concluded with the verses : 

Vive diu bos, vive diu celebrande per annos, 
Inter Pontificum gloria prima choros.* 

The statements of Michele Perno and of Hieronymus 
Porcius regarding the coronation festivities and the pro- 
fessions of loyalty of the ambassadors from the various 
Italian Powers must be read to see to what extremes flat- 
tery was carried in those days. It is difficult for us to im- 
agine how imposing was the entrance of this brilliant pope 
upon the spectacular stage of Rome at the time when the 

* These stanzas were written by Hieronymus Porcius, who printed 
them in Hieronym. Porcius Patritius Romanus Rotse Primarius Au- 
ditor .... Commentarius; a rare publication of Eucharius Silber, 
Rome, September 18, 1493. The stanzas of Michele Ferno of Milan 
conclude: 

Borgia stirps : bos : atque Ceres transcendit Olympo, 
Cantabunt nomen saecula cuncta suum ; 

which turned out to be a true prophecy. See Michasl Fernus Historia 
nova Alexandri VI ab Innocentii obitu VIII ; an equally rare publica- 
tion of the same Eucharius Silber, A. 1493. 

46 



HER FATHER BECOMES POPE 

papacy was at the zenith of its power — a height it had at- 
tained, not through love of the Church, nor by devotion to 
religion, which had long been debased, but by dazzling the 
luxury-loving people of the age and by modern politics ; in 
addition to this, the Church had preserved since the Mid- 
dle Ages a traditional and mystic character which held the 
respect of the faithful. 

Ferno remarks that the history of the world offered 
nothing to compare with the grandeur of the Pope's ap- 
pearance and the charm of his person, — and this author 
was not a bigoted papist, but a diligent student of Pom- 
ponius Laetus. Like all the romanticists of the classic 
revival, however, he was highly susceptible to theatrical 
effects. Words failed him when he tried to describe the 
passage of Alexander to S. Maria del Popolo : ' ' These holi- 
day swarms of richly clad people, the seven hundred priests 
and cardinals with their retinues, these knights and 
grandees of Rome in dazzling cavalcades, these troops of 
archers and Turkish horsemen, the palace guards with 
long lances and glittering shields, the twelve riderless 
white horses with golden bridles, which were led along, and 
all the other pomp and parade! " Weeks would be re- 
quired for arranging a pageant like this at the present 
time ; but the Pope could improvise it in the twinkling of 
an eye, for the actors and their costumes were always 
ready. He set it in motion for the sole purpose of show- 
ing himself to the Romans, and in order that his majesty 
might lend additional brilliancy to a popular holiday. 

Ferno depicted the Pope himself as a demi-god coming 
forth to his people. " Upon a snow-white horse he sat, 
serene of countenance and of surpassing dignity; thus he 
showed himself to the people, and blessed them; thus he 
was seen of all. His glance fell upon them and filled every 

47 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

heart with joy. And so his appearance was of good 
augury for everyone. How wonderful is his tranquil bear- 
ing ! And how noble his faultless face ! His glance, how 
frank ! How greatly does the honor which we feel for him 
increase when we behold his beauty and vigor of body! " 
Alexander the Great would have been described in just 
such terms by Ferno. This was the idolatry which was 
always accorded the papacy, and no one asked what was 
the inner and personal life of the glittering idol. 

On the occasion of his coronation Alexander appointed 
his son Caesar, a youth of sixteen, Bishop of Valencia. 
This he did without being sure of the sanction of Ferdi- 
nand the Catholic, who, in fact, for a long time did 
endeavor to withhold it; but he finally yielded, and the 
Borgias consequently got the first bishopric in Spain into 
their hereditary possession. Cassar was not in Rome at 
the time his father received the tiara. On the twenty- 
second of August, eleven days after Alexander's election, 
Manfredi, ambassador from Ferrara to Florence, wrote 
the Duchess Eleonora d'Este: " The Pope's son, the 
Bishop of Pamplona, who has been attending the Uni- 
versity of Pisa, left there by the Pope's orders yesterday 
morning, and has gone to the castle of Spoleto." 

The fifth of October Cassar was still there, for on that 
date he wrote a letter to Piero de' Medici from that 
place. This epistle to Lorenzo's son, the brother of Car- 
dinal Giovanni, shows that the greatest confidence existed 
between him and Cassar, who says in it that, on account of 
his sudden departure from Pisa, he had been unable to 
communicate orally with him, and that his preceptor, Juan 
Vera, would have to represent him. He recommended his 
trusted familiar, Francesco Romolini, to Piero for appoint- 
ment as professor of canon law in Pisa. The letter is 

48 



HER FATHER BECOMES POPE 

signed, " Your brother, Cesar de Borja, Elector of Va- 
lencia. ' ' * 

By not allowing his son to come to Rome immediately, 
Alexander wished to give public proof of what he had 
declared at the time of his election ; namely, that he would 
hold himself above all nepotism. Perhaps there was a 
moment when the warning afforded by the examples of 
Calixtus, Sixtus, and Innocent caused him to hesitate, 
and to resolve to moderate his love for his offspring. How- 
ever, the nomination of his son to a bishopric on the day 
of his coronation shows that his resolution was not very 
earnest. In October Cassar appeared in the Vatican, where 
the Borgias now occupied the place which the pitiable 
Cibds had left. 

On September 1st the Pope made the elder Giovanni 
Borgia, who was Bishop of Monreale, a cardinal; he was 
the son of Alexander's sister Giovanna. The Vatican was 
filled with Spaniards, kinsmen, or friends of the now all- 
powerful house, who had eagerly hurried thither in quest 
of fortune and honors. " Ten papacies would not be 
sufficient to satisfy this swarm of relatives," wrote Gia- 
nandrea Boccaccio in November, 1492, to the Duke of 
Ferrara. Of the close friends of Alexander, Juan Lopez 
was made his chancellor; Pedro Caranza and Juan Ma- 
rades his privy chamberlains; Rodrigo Borgia, a nephew 
of the Pope, was made captain of the palace guard, which 
hitherto had been commanded by a Doria. 

Alexander immediately began to lay the plans for a 
more brilliant future for his daughter. He would no 
longer listen to her marrying a Spanish nobleman; noth- 

* Ex arce Spoletina, die v. Oct. (Di propria mano). Vr. vti fr. Cesar 
de Borja Elect. Valentin. Published by Reumont in Archiv. Stor. 
Ital. Serie 3, T. xvii, 1873. 3 Dispensa. 

4 49 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ing less than a prince should receive her hand. Ludovico 
and Ascanio suggested their kinsman, Giovanni Sforza. 
The Pope accepted him as son-in-law, for, although he was 
only Count of Cotognola and vicar of Pesaro, he was an 
independent sovereign, and he belonged to the illustrious 
house of Sforza. Alexander had entered early into such 
close relations with the Sforza that Cardinal Ascanio be- 
came all-powerful in Rome. Giovanni, an illegitimate son 
of Costanzo of Pesaro, and only by the indulgence of 
Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII his hereditary heir, was a 
man of twenty-six, well formed and carefully educated, 
like most of the lesser Italian despots. He had married 
Maddalena, the beautiful sister of Elisabetta Gonzaga, in 
1489, on the very day upon which the latter was joined in 
wedlock to Duke Guidobaldo of Urbino. He had, how- 
ever, been a widower since August 8, 1490, on which date 
his wife died in childbirth. 

Sforza hastened to accept the offered hand of the young 
Lucretia before any of her other numerous suitors could 
win it. On leaving Pesaro he first went to the castle of 
Nepi, which Alexander VI had given to Cardinal Ascanio. 
There he remained a few days and then came quietly to 
Rome, October 31, 1492. Here he took up his residence in 
the cardinal's palace of S. Clement, erected by Domenico 
della Rovere in the Borgo. It is still standing, and in good 
preservation, opposite the Palazzo Giraud. The Ferrarese 
ambassador announced Sforza 's arrival to his master, re- 
marking, " He will be a great man as long as this pope 
rules." He explained the retirement in which Sforza 
lived by stating that the man to whom Lucretia had 
been legally betrothed was also in Rome.* 

* Era venuto il primo marito de la dicta nepote, qual fu rimesso a 
Napoli, non visto da niuno. . . . Despatch of Gianandrea Boccaccio, 

50 



GIOVANNI SFORZA 

The young Count Gasparo had come to Rome with his 
father to make good his claim to Lucretia, through whom 
he hoped to obtain great favor. Here he found another 
suitor of whom he had hitherto heard nothing, but 
whose presence had become known, and he fell into a rage 
when the Pope demanded from him a formal renunciation. 
Lucretia, at that time a child of only twelve and a half 
years, thus became the innocent cause of a contest between 
two suitors, and likewise the subject of public gossip for the 
first time. November 5th the plenipotentiary of Ferrara 
wrote his master, " There is much gossip about Pesaro's 
marriage; the first bridegroom is still here, raising :a 
great hue and cry, as a Catalan, saying he will protest 
to all the princes and potentates of Christendom; but 
will he, nill he, he will have to submit." On the ninth 
of November the same ambassador wrote, " Heaven pre- 
vent this marriage of Pesaro from bringing calamities. 
It seems that the King (of Naples) is angry on account of 
it, judging by what Giacomo, Pontano's nephew told the 
Pope the day before yesterday. The matter is still un- 
decided. Both the suitors are given fair words; both are 
here. However, it is believed that Pesaro will carry the 
day, especially as Cardinal Ascanio, who is powerful in 
deeds as well as in words, is looking after his interests. ' ' 

In the meantime, November 8th, the marriage contract 
between Don Gasparo and Lucretia was formally dissolved. 
The groom and his father merely expressed the hope that 
the new alliance would reach a favorable consummation, 
and Gasparo bound himself not to marry within one year. 
Giovanni Sforza, however, was not yet certain of his vic- 
tory; December 9th the Mantuan agent Fioravante Bro- 

Bishop of Modena, Rome, November 2, 1492, and November 5 and 9. 
Archives of Modena. 

51 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

gnolo, wrote the Marchese Gonzaga, " The affairs of the 
illustrious nobleman, Giovanni of Pesaro, are still unde- 
cided; it looks to me as if the Spanish nobleman to whom 
his Highness 's niece was promised would not give her up. 
He has a great following in Spain, consequently the Pope 
is inclined to let things take their own course for a time, 
and not force them to a conclusion.* Even as late as 
February, 1493, there was talk of a marriage of Lucretia 
with the Spanish Conde de Prada, and not until this pro- 
ject was relinquished was she betrothed to Giovanni 
Sforza. f 

In the meantime Sf orza had returned to Pesaro, whence 
he sent his proxy, Nicold de Savano, to Rome to conclude 
the marriage contract. The Count of Aversa surrendered 
his advantage and suffered his grief to be assuaged by the 
payment to him of three thousand ducats. Thereupon, 
February 2, 1493, the betrothal of Sforza and Lucretia was 
formally ratified in the Vatican, in the presence of the 
Milanese ambassador and the intimate friends and servants 
of Alexander, Juan Lopez, Juan Casanova, Pedro Caranza, 
and Juan Marades. The Pope's daughter, who was to be 
taken home by her husband within one year, received a 
dowry of thirty-one thousand ducats. 

"When the news of this event reached Pesaro, the for- 
tunate Sforza gave a grand celebration in his palace. 
" They danced in the great hall, and the couples, hand in 
hand, issued from the castle, led by Monsignor Scaltes, the 
Pope's plenipotentiary, and the people in their joy joined 
in and danced away the hours in the streets of the city. ' ' J 

* Despatch of that date in the archives of Mantua. Lucretia was 
still sometimes designated as the Pope's niece. 

\ Gianandrea Boccaccio to Duke Ercole, Rome, February 25, 1493. 

% Ms. Memoirs of Pesaro, by Pietro Marzetti and Ludovico Zacconi, 
in the Bibl. Oliveriana of Pesaro. 

52 



CHAPTER VII 



LUCRETIA S FIRST MARRIAGE 



Alexander had a residence furnished for Lucretia close 
to the Vatican; it was a house which Cardinal Battista 
Zeno had built in 1483, and was known after his church as 
the Palace of S. Maria in Portico. It was on the left 
side of the steps of S. Peter's, almost opposite the Palace 
of the Inquisition. The building of Bernini's Colonnade 
has, however, changed the appearance of the neighbor- 
hood so that it is no longer recognizable. 

The youthful Lucretia held court in her own palace, 
which was under the management of her maid of honor 
and governess, Adriana Orsini. Alexander had induced 
this kinswoman of his to leave the Orsini palace and to 
take up her abode with Lucretia in the palace of S. Maria 
in Portico, where we shall frequently see them and an- 
other woman who was only too close to the Pope. 

Vannozza remained in her own house in the Regola 
quarter. Her husband had been made commandant or 
captain of the Torre di Nona, of which Alexander shortly 
made him warden, a position of great trust, and Canale 
gave himself up eagerly to his important and profitable 
duties. From this time Vannozza and her children saw 
each other but little, although they were not completely 
separated. They continued to communicate with each 
other, but the mother profited only indirectly by the good 
fortune and greatness of her offspring. Vannozza never 

53 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

allowed herself, nor did Alexander permit her, to have any 
influence in the Vatican, and her name seldom appears 
in the records of the time. 

Donna Lucretia was now beginning to maintain the 
state of a great princess. She received the numerous con- 
nections of her house, as well as the friends and flatterers of 
the now all-powerful Borgia. Strange it is that the very 
man who, after the stormy period of her life, was to take 
her to a haven of rest should appear there about the time 
of her betrothal to Sforza, and while the contract was 
being contested by Don Gasparo. 

Among the Italian princes who at that period either 
sent ambassadors or came in person to Rome to render 
homage to the new Pope was the hereditary prince of 
Ferrara. In all Italy there was no other court so brilliant 
as that of Ercole d'Este and his spouse Eleonora of Ara- 
gon, a daughter of King Ferdinand of Naples. She, how- 
ever, died about this time ; namely, October 11, 1493. One 
of her children, Beatrice, had been married in December, 
1490, to Ludovico il Moro, the brilliant monster who was 
Regent of Milan in place of his nephew Giangaleazzo ; her 
other daughter, Isabella, one of the most beautiful and 
magnificent women of her day, was married in 1490, when 
she was only sixteen years of age, to the Marchese Fran- 
cesco Gonzaga of Mantua. Alfonso was heir to the title, 
and on February 12, 1491, when he was only fifteen years 
old, he married Anna Sforza, a sister of the same Gian- 
galeazzo. 

In November, 1492, his father sent him to Rome to 
recommend his state to the favor of the Pope, who received 
the youthful scion of the house of Sforza, — into which his 
own daughter was to marry, — with the highest honors. Don 
Alfonso lived in the Vatican, and during his visit, which 

54 



LUCRETIA'S FIRST MARRIAGE 

lasted for several weeks, he not only had an opportunity, 
but it was his duty to call on Donna Lucretia. He was 
filled with amazement when he first beheld the beautiful 
child with her golden hair and intelligent blue eyes, and 
nothing was farther from his mind than the idea that the 
Sforza's betrothed would enter the castle of the Este fam- 
ily at Ferrara, as his own wife, nine years later. 

The letter of thanks which the prince's father wrote to 
the Pope shows how great were the honors with which the 
son had been received. The duke says: 

Most Holy Father and Lord, my Honored Master: I 
kiss your Holiness 's feet and commend myself to you in 
all humility. What honor and praise was due your Holi- 
ness I have long known, and now the letters of the 
Bishop of Modena, my ambassador, and also of others, not 
alone those of my dearly beloved first born, Alfonso, but 
of all the members of his suite, show how much I owe you. 
They tell me how your Highness included us all, me and 
mine, within the measure of your love, and overwhelmed 
all with presents, favors, mercy, and benevolence on my 
son's arrival in Rome and during his stay there. There- 
fore I acknowledge that I have for a long time been in- 
debted to your Holiness, and now am still more so on 
account of this. My obligation is more than I can ever 
repay, and I promise that my gratitude shall be eternal 
and measureless like the world. As your most dutiful 
servant I shall always be ready to perform anything which 
may be acceptable to your Holiness, to whom I recommend 
myself and mine in all humility. Your Holiness 's son and 
servant, 

Ercole, 

Duke of Ferrara. 

[Ferrara, January 3, 1493.] 

The letter shows how great was the duke's anxiety to 
remain on good terms with the Pope. 

He was a vassal in Ferrara of the Roman Church, which 

55 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

was endeavoring to transform itself into a monarchy. The 
princes, as well as the republicans of Italy, — at least those 
whose possessions were close to the sphere of action of the 
Holy See or were its vassals, — studied every new pope with 
suspicion and fear, and also with curiosity to see in what 
direction nepotism would develop under him. How easily 
Alexander VI might have again taken up the plans of the 
house of Borgia where they had been interrupted by the 
death of his uncle Calixtus, and have followed in the foot- 
steps of Sixtus IV ! 

Moreover, it was only ten years since the last named 
pope had, in conjunction with Venice, waged war on 
Ferrara. 

Ercole had maintained friendly relations with Alex- 
ander VI when he was only a cardinal; Rodrigo Borgia 
had even been godfather to his son Alfonso when he was 
baptized. For his other son, Ippolito, the duke, through 
his ambassador in Rome, Gianandrea Boccaccio, en- 
deavored to secure a cardinal's cap. The ambassador ap- 
plied to the most influential of Alexander's confidants, 
Ascanio Sforza, the chamberlain Marades, and Madonna 
Adriana. The Pope desired to make his son Caesar a car- 
dinal, and Boccaccio hoped that the youthful Ippolito 
would be his companion in good fortune. The ambassador 
gave Marades to understand that the two young men, one 
of whom was Archbishop of Valencia, the other of Gran, 
would make a good pair. " Their ages are about the 
same; I believe that Valencia is not more than sixteen 
years old, while our Stfigonia (Gran) is near that age." 
Marades replied that this was not quite correct, as Ippolito 
was not yet fourteen, and the Archbishop of Valencia was 
in his eighteenth year.* 

* Boccaccio's despatches, Rome, February 25, March 11, 1493. 
56 



LUCRETIA'S FIEST MARRIAGE 

The youthful Cassar was stirred by other desires than 
those for spiritual honors. He assumed the hated garb of 
the priest only on his father's command. Although he 
was an archbishop he had only the first tonsure. His life 
was wholly worldly. It was even said that the King of 
Naples wanted him to marry one of his natural daughters 
and that if he did so he would relinquish the priesthood. 
The Ferrarese ambassador called upon him March 17, 1493, 
in his house in Trastevere, by which was probably meant 
the Borgo. The picture which Boccaccio on this occasion 
gave Duke Ercole of this young man of seventeen years is 
an important and significant portrait, and the first we 
have of him. 

' ' I met Caesar yesterday in the house in Trastevere ; he 
was just on his way to the chase, dressed in a costume alto- 
gether worldly; that is, in silk, — and armed. He had only 
a little tonsure like a simple priest. I conversed with him 
for a while as we rode along. I am on intimate terms with 
him. He possesses marked genius and a charming per- 
sonality; he bears himself like a great prince; he is espe- 
cially lively and merry, and fond, of society. Being very 
modest, he presents a much better and more distinguished 
appearance than his brother, the Duke of Gandia, although 
the latter is also highly endowed. The archbishop never 
had any inclination for the priesthood. His benefices, 
however, bring him in more than sixteen thousand ducats 
annually. If the projected marriage takes place, his 
benefices will fall to another brother (Giuffre), who is 
about thirteen years old. ' ' * 

* Magni et excellentis ingenii et preclare indolis; prae se fert speciem 
filii magni Principis, et super omnia ilaris et jocundus, e tutto festa : cum 
magna siquidem modestia est longe melioris et prestantioris aspectus, 
quam sit dux Candie germanus suus. Anchora lue e dotato di bone 
parte. Despatch of March 19, 1493. 

57 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

It will be seen that the ambassador specially mentions 
Ceesar's buoyant nature. This was one of Alexander's 
most characteristic traits, and both Cassar and Lucretia 
who was noted for it later, had inherited it from him. So 
far as his prudence was concerned, it was proclaimed six 
years later by a no less distinguished man than Giuliano 
della Rovere, who afterwards became pope under the name 
of Julius II. 

The Duke of Gandia was in Rome at this time, but it 
was his intention to set out for Spain to see his spouse 
immediately after the celebration of the marriage of Sforza 
and Lucretia. Lucretia 's wedding was to take place on S. 
George's day, but was postponed, as it was found impos- 
sible for the bridegroom to arrive in time. Alexander took 
the greatest pleasure in making the arrangements for set- 
ting up his daughter's establishment. Her happiness — or, 
what to him was the same thing, her greatness — meant much 
to him. He loved her passionately, superlatively, as the 
Ferrarese ambassador wrote his master.* On the ambas- 
sador's suggestion the Duke of Ferrara sent as a wedding 
gift a pair of large silver hand basins with the accompany- 
ing vessels, all of the finest workmanship. Two residences 
were proposed for the young pair; the palace of S. Maria 
in Portico and the one near the castle of S. Angelo, which 
had belonged to the Cardinal Domenicus Porta of Aleria, 
who died February 4, 1493. The former, in which Lu- 
cretia was already living, was chosen. 

At last Sforza arrived. June 9th he made his entry by 
way of the Porta del Popolo, and was received by the whole 

* Mai fu visto il piu carnale homo ; l'hama questa madona Lucrezia 
in superlativo gradu. Boccaccio's Despatch, Rome, April 4, 1493. The 
word carnale is to be taken only in the sense of nepotism, as it is plainly 
so used elsewhere by the ambassador. 

58 



LUCRETIA'S FIRST MARRIAGE 

senate, his brothers-in-law, and the ambassadors of the 
Powers. Lucretia, attended by several maids of honor, 
had taken a position in a loggia of her palace to see her 
bridegroom and his suite on their way to the Vatican. As 
he rode by, Sforza greeted her right gallantly, and his 
bride returned his salutation. He was most graciously 
received by his father-in-law. 

Sforza was a man of attractive appearance, as we may 
readily discover from a medal which he had struck ten 
years later, which represents him with long, flowing locks 
and a full beard. The mouth is sensitive, the under lip 
slightly drawn; the nose is somewhat aquiline; the fore- 
head smooth and lofty. The proportions of his features 
are noble, but lacking in character. 

Three days after his arrival, that is, June 12th, the 
nuptials were celebrated in the Vatican with ostentatious 
publicity. Alexander had invited the nobility, the officials 
of Rome, and the foreign ambassadors to be present. There 
was a banquet, followed by a licentious comedy, which is 
described by Infessura. 

To corroborate the short account given by this Roman, 
and at the same time to render the picture more complete, 
we reproduce, word for word, the description which the 
Ferrarese ambassador, Boccaccio, sent his master in a com- 
munication dated June 13th : 

Yesterday, the twelfth of the present month, the 
union was publicly celebrated in the palace, with the great- 
est pomp and extravagance. All the Roman matrons were 
invited, also the most influential citizens, and many car- 
dinals, twelve in number, stood near her, the Pope occupy- 
ing the throne in their midst. The palace and all the 
apartments were filled with people, who were overcome 
with amazement. The lord of Pesaro celebrated his be- 
trothal to his wife, and the Bishop of Concordia delivered 

59 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

a sermon. The only ambassadors present, however, were 
the Venetian, the Milanese and myself, and one from the 
King of France. 

Cardinal Ascanio thought that I ought to present 
the gift during the ceremony, so I had some one ask the 
Pope, to whom I remarked that I did not think it proper, 
and that it seemed better to me to wait a little while. All 
agreed with me, whereupon the Pope called to me and 
said, ' ' It seems to me to be best as you say ' ' ; consequently 
it was arranged that I should bring the present to the 
palace late in the evening. His Holiness gave a small 
dinner in honor of the bride and groom, and there were 
present the Cardinals Ascanio, S. Anastasia, and Colonna; 
the bride and groom, and next to him the Count of 
Pitigliano, captain of the Church; Giuliano Orsini; Ma- 
donna Giulia Farnese, of whom there is so much talk 
(de qua est tantus sermo) ; Madonna Teodorina and her 
daughter, the Marchesa of Gerazo; a daughter of the above 
named captain, wife of Angelo Farnese, Madonna Giulia 's 
brother. Then came a younger brother of Cardinal Co- 
lonna and Madonna Adriana Ursina. The last is mother- 
in-law of the above mentioned Madonna Giulia. She 
had the bride educated in her own home, where she 
was treated as a niece of the Pope. Adriana is the daughter 
of the Pope's cousin, Pedro de Mila, deceased, with whom 
your Excellency was acquainted. 

When the table was cleared, which was between three 
and four o'clock in the morning, the bride was presented 
with the gift sent by the illustrious Duke of Milan ; it con- 
sisted of five different pieces of gold brocade and two 
rings, a diamond and a ruby, the whole worth a thousand 
ducats. Thereupon I presented your Highness 's gift with 
suitable words of congratulation on the marriage and good 
wishes for the future, together with the offer of your 
services. The present greatly pleased the Pope. To the 
thanks of the bride and groom he added his own expres- 
sions of unbounded gratitude. Then Ascanio offered his 
present, which consisted of a complete drinking service of 
silver washed with gold, worth about a thousand ducats. 
Cardinal Monreale gave two rings, a sapphire and a dia- 
mond — very beautiful — and worth three thousand ducats; 
the prothonotary Cesarini gave a bowl and cup worth eight 
hundred ducats ; the Duke of Gandia a vessel worth seventy 

60 



LUCRETIA'S FIRST MARRIAGE 

ducats ; the prothonotary Lunate a vase of a certain compo- 
sition like jasper, ornamented with silver, gilded, which 
was worth seventy to eighty ducats. These were all the 
gifts presented at this time; the other cardinals, ambas- 
sadors, etc., will bring their presents when the marriage is 
celebrated, and I will do whatever is necessary. It will, I 
think, be performed next Sunday, but this is not certain. 

In conclusion, the women danced, and, as an inter- 
lude, a good comedy was given, with songs and music. The 
Pope and all the others were present. What shall I add? 
There would be no end to my letter. Thus we passed the 
whole night, and whether it was good or bad your High- 
ness may decide. 



61 



CHAPTER VIII 



FAMILY AFFAIRS 



Lucretia's marriage with Giovanni Sforza confirmed 
the political alliance which Alexander VI had made with 
Ludovico il Moro. The Regent of Milan wanted to invite 
Charles VIII of France into Italy to make war upon King 
Ferdinand of Naples, so that he himself might ultimately 
gain possession of the duchy, for he was consumed with 
ambition and impatience to drive his sickly nephew, Gian- 
galeazzo, from the throne. The latter, however, was the 
consort of Isabella of Aragon, a daughter of Alfonso of 
Calabria and the grandson of Ferdinand himself. 

The alliance of Venice, Ludovico, the Pope, and some 
of the other Italian nobles had become known in Rome 
as early as April 25th. This league, clearly, was opposed 
to Naples; and its court, therefore, was thrown into the 
greatest consternation. 

Nevertheless, King Ferdinand congratulated the Lord 
of Pesaro upon his marriage. He looked upon him as a 
kinsman, and Sforza had likewise been accepted by the 
house of Aragon. June 15, 1493, the king wrote to him 
from Capua as follows : 

Illustrious Cousin and Our Dearest Friend: We 
have received your letter of the twenty-second of last 
month, in which you inform us of your marriage with the 
illustrious Donna Lucretia, the niece of his Holiness our 
Master. We are much pleased, both because we always 

62 



FAMILY AFFAIRS 

have and still do feel the greatest love for yourself and 
your house, and also because we believe that nothing could 
be of greater advantage to you than this marriage. There- 
fore we wish you the best of fortune, and we pray God, 
with you, that this alliance may increase your own power 
and fame and that of your State.* 

Eight days earlier the same king had sent his am- 
bassador to Spain a letter, in which he asked the protection 
of Ferdinand and Isabella against the machinations of the 
Pope, whose ways he described as ' ' loathsome " ; in this he 
was referring, not to his political actions, but to his per- 
sonal conduct. Giulia Farnese, whom Infessura noticed 
among the wedding guests and described as " the Pope's 
concubine," caused endless gossip about herself and his 
Holiness. This young woman surrendered herself to an 
old man of sixty-two whom she was also compelled to 
honor as the head of the Church. There is no doubt what- 
ever about her years of adultery, but we can not under- 
stand the cause of her passion; for however powerful the 
demoniac nature of Alexander VI may have been, it must 
by this time have lost much of its magnetic strength. Per- 
haps this young and empty-headed creature, after she had 
once transgressed and the feeling of shame had passed, was 
fascinated by the spectacle of the sacred master of the 
world, before whom all men prostrated themselves, lying 
at her feet — the feet of a weak child. 

There is also the suspicion that the cupidity of the 
Farnese was the cause of the criminal relations, for Giulia 's 
sins were rewarded by nothing less than the bestowal of the 
cardinal's purple on her brother Alessandro. The Pope 
had already designated him, among others, for the honor, 
but the nomination was delayed by the opposition of the 
* Cod. Aragon, ii, 2.67, ed Trinchera. 
63 



LUCKETIA BORGIA 

Sacred College, over which Giuliano della Rovere presided. 
King Ferdinand also encouraged this opposition, and on 
the very day on which Lucretia's marriage to Pesaro was 
celebrated he placed his army at the disposal of the car- 
dinals who refused to sanction the appointment. 

Her consort, Sforza, was now a great man in Rome, 
and intimate with all the Borgias. June 16th he was 
seen by the side of the Duke of Gandia, decked in costly 
robes glittering with precious stones, as if " they were 
two kings," riding out to meet the Spanish ambassador. 
Gandia was preparing for his journey to Spain. He had 
been betrothed to Dona Maria Enriquez, a beautiful 
lady of Valencia, shortly before his father ascended the 
papal throne; there is a brief of Alexander's dated 
October 6, 1492, in which he grants his son and his spouse 
the right to obtain absolution from any confessor whatso- 
ever. The high birth of Doiia Maria shows what brilliant 
connections the bastard Giovanni Borgia was able to make 
as a grandee of Spain, for she was the daughter of Don En- 
rigo Enriquez, High-Treasurer of Leon, and Dofia Maria 
de Luna, who was closely connected with the royal house 
of Aragon. Don Giovanni left Rome, August 4, 1493, to 
board a Spanish galley in Civitavecchia. According to 
the report of the Ferrarese agent, he took with him an in- 
credible number of trinkets, with whose manufacture the 
goldsmiths of Rome had busied themselves for months. 

Of Alexander's sons there now remained in Rome, 
Caesar, who was to be made a cardinal, and Giuffre, who 
was destined to be a prince in. Naples, for the quarrrel 
between the Pope and King Ferdinand had been settled 
through the intermediation of Spain. She caused Alex- 
ander to break with France, and to sever his connection 
with Ludovico il Moro. This surprising change was im- 

64 



FAMILY AFFAIBS 

mediately confirmed by the marriage of Don Giuffre^ a 
boy of scarcely thirteen, and Donna Sancia, a natural 
daughter of Duke Alfonso of Calabria. August 16, 1493, 
the marriage was performed by proxy in the Vatican, and 
the wedding took place later in Naples. 

Caesar himself became cardinal, September 20, 1493, the 
stain of his birth having been removed by the Cardinals 
Pallavicini and Orsini, who had been charged with legiti- 
mating him. February 25, 1493, Gianandrea Boccaccio 
wrote to Ferrara regarding the legitimating of Caesar, iron- 
ically saying, " They wish to remove the blot of being a 
natural son, and very rightly; because he is legitimate, 
having been born in the house while the woman's husband 
was living. This much is certain: the husband was some- 
times in the city and at others traveling about in the terri- 
tory of the Church and in her interest. ' ' The ambassador, 
however, never mentions the name of this man, which, how- 
ever, Infessura says was Domenico d'Arignano. 

Ippolito d'Este and Alessandro Farnese were made 
cardinals the same day. To his sister 's adultery this young 
libertine owed his advancement in the Church, a fact so 
notorious that the wits of the Roman populace called him 
the " petticoat cardinal." The jubilant kinsmen of Giulia 
Farnese saw in her only the instrument of their advance- 
ment. Girolama Farnese, Giulia 's sister, wrote to her hus- 
band, Puccio, from Casignano, October 21, 1493, " You 
will have received letters from Florence before mine 
reaches you and have learned what benefices have fallen to 
Lorenzo, and all that Giulia has secured for him, and you 
will be greatly pleased. ' ' * 

Even the Republic of Florence sought to profit by Alex- 
ander's relations with Giulia; for Puccio, her brother-in- 
* Carte Strozziane, filz 343. In the archives of Florence. 
5 65 



LUCBETIA BORGIA 

law, was sent to Rome as plenipotentiary. The Floren- 
tines had despatched this famous jurist to the papal city 
immediately after Alexander's accession to the throne, to 
swear allegiance, and later he was her agent for a year in 
Faenza, where he conducted the government for Astorre 
Manfredi, who was a minor. At the beginning of the year 
1494 he went as ambassador to Rome, where he died in 
August.* 

His brother, Lorenzo Pucci, subsequently attained to 
eminence in the Church under Leo X, becoming a powerful 
cardinal. 

The Farnese and their numerous kin were now in high 
favor with the Pope and all the Borgias. In October, 
1493, they invited Alexander and Caesar to a family re- 
union at the castle of Capodimonte, where Madonna Gio- 
vanella, Giulia 's mother, was to prepare a banquet. 
Whether or not this really took place we are ignorant, al- 
though we do know that Alexander was in Viterbo the 
last of October. 

In 1492 Giulia gave birth to a daughter, who was named 
Laura. The child officially passed as that of her husband, 
Orsini, although in reality the Pope was its father. The 
Farnese and the Pucci knew the secret and shamelessly 
endeavored to profit by it. Giulia cared so little for the 
world's opinion that she occupied the palace of S. Maria 
in Portico, as if she were a blood relation of Lucretia. 
Alexander himself had put her there as a lady of honor to 
his daughter. Her husband, Orsini, preferred, or was 
compelled, to live in his castle of Bassanello, or to stay on 
one of the estates which the Pope had presented to him, 
the husband of Madonna Giulia, " Christ's bride," as the 

* Lelia Ursina de Farnesio congratulated him on his appointment, 
January 13, 1494. Ibidem. 

66 



FAMILY AFFAIRS 

satirists called her, instead of remaining in Rome to be a 
troublesome witness of his shame. 

A remarkable letter of Lorenzo Pucci to his brother 
Giannozzo, written the 23d and 24th of December, 1493, 
from Rome, discloses these and other family secrets. He 
shows us the most private scenes in Lucretia's palace. 
Lorenzo had been invited by Cardinal Farnese to go with 
him to Rome to witness the Christmas festivities. He ac- 
companied him from Viterbo to Rignano, where the barons 
of the Savelli house, kinsmen of the cardinal, formally 
received them, after which they continued their journey 
on horseback to Rome. Lorenzo repeated to his brother the 
confidential conversation which he had enjoyed with the 
cardinal on the way. Even as early as this there was talk 
of finding a suitable husband for Giulia's little daughter. 
The cardinal unfolded his idea to Lorenzo. Piero de' 
Medici wished to give his own daughter to the youthful 
Astorre Manfredi of Faenza, but Farnese desired to bring 
about an alliance between Astorre and Giulia's daughter. 
He hoped to be able to convince Piero that this union would 
be advantageous for both himself and the Republic of 
Florence, and would strengthen his relations with the Holy 
See. The affair would be handled so that it would appear 
that it was entirely due to the wishes of the Pope and of 
Piero. In this the cardinal counted on the consent of both 
Alexander and Giulia, and on the influence of Madonna 
Adriana. 

Lorenzo Pucci replied to the cardinal's confidence as 
follows: " Monsignor, I certainly think that our Master 
(the Pope) will give a daughter to this gentleman (As- 
torre), for I believe that this child is the Pope's daughter, 
just as Lucretia is, and your Highness 's niece."* In his 

* In the earlier edition of this work I found some difficulty in the 

67 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

letter Lorenzo does not say whether the cardinal made any 
reply to this audacious statement, which would have 
brought a blush to the face of any honorable man. Prob- 
ably it only caused Alessandro Farnese a little smile of 
assent. The bold Pucci repeated his opinion in the same 
letter, saying, " She is the child of the Pope, the niece 
of the cardinal, and the putative daughter of Signor Or- 
sini, to whom our Master intends to give three or four 
more castles near Bassanello. In addition, the cardinal 
says that in ease his brother Angelo remains without heir, 
this child will inherit his property, as she is very dear to 
him, and he is already thinking of this ; and by this means 
the illustrious Piero will obtain the support of the car- 
dinal, who will be under everlasting obligations to him." 
Lorenzo did not overlook himself in these schemes; he 
openly expressed the wish that his brother Puccio would 
come to Rome — as ambassador of the Republic, which he 
did — and that he might secure through the influence of 
Madonna Adriana and Giulia a number of good places. 

Lorenzo continued his letter December 24th, describ- 
ing a scene in Lucretia's palace, and his narrative shows 
her, and especially Giulia, as plainly as if they stood before 
us. 

Giannozzo Mine: Yesterday evening I wrote you as 
above. To-day, which is Easter evening, I rode with Mon- 
signor Farnese to the papal palace to vespers, and before 
his Eminence entered the chapel I called at the house S. 
Maria in Portico to see Madonna Giulia. She had just fin- 
ished washing her hair when I entered ; she was sitting by 

passage: "Chredo che questa puta sia figlia del Papa, como Madonna Lu- 
chretia 5 nipote di S. R. Signoria." I am now convinced that the 5 is an 
error of the writer or the copyist and should be simply the conjuction e. 
Lorenzo Pucci's brother Giannozzo was married to Lucrezia Bini, a 
Florentine, who is mentioned later in this same letter. 

68 



FAMILY AFFAIRS 

the fire with Madonna Lucretia, the daughter of our Master, 
and Madonna Adriana, and they all received me with great 
cordiality. Madonna Giulia asked me to sit by her side; 
she thanked me for having taken Jeronima (Girolama) 
home, and said to me that I must, by all means, bring her 
there again to please her. Madonna Adriana asked, ' Is it 
true that she is not allowed to come here any more than 
she was permitted to go to Capodimonte and Marta? ' I 
replied that I knew nothing about that, and it was enough 
for me if I had made Madonna Giulia happy by taking 
her home, for in her letters she had requested me to do so, 
and now they could do as they pleased. I wanted to leave 
it to Madonna Giulia, who was alive to all her oppor- 
tunities, to meet her as she saw fit, as she wanted her to 
see her magnificence just as much as Jeronima (Girolama) 
herself wanted to see it. Thereupon Madonna Giulia 
thanked me warmly and said I had made her very happy. 
I then reminded her how greatly I was beholden to her 
Highness by what she had done for me, and that I could 
not show my gratitude better than by taking Madonna 
Jeronima (Girolama) home. She answered that such a 
trifle deserved no thanks. She hopes to be of still greater 
help to me, and says I shall find her so at the right time. 
Madonna Adriana joined in saying I might be certain that 
it was through neither the chancellor, Messer Antonio, nor 
his deputy, but owing to the favor of Madonna Giulia her- 
self, that I had obtained the benefices. 

In order not to contradict, I replied that I knew that, 
and I again thanked her Highness. Thereupon Madonna 
Giulia asked with much interest after Messer Puccio and 
said, ' ' We will see to it that some day he will come here as 
ambassador; and although, when he was here, we, in spite 
of all our endeavors, were unable to effect it, we could now 
accomplish it without any difficulty. ' ' She assured me also 
that the cardinal had mentioned to her the previous 
evening the matter we had discussed on the road, and she 
urged me to write ; she thought if the affair were handled 
by yourself, the illustrious Piero would be favorably 
disposed toward it. Thus far has the matter progressed. 
Giulia also wanted me to see the child; she is now well 
grown, and, it seems to me, resembles the Pope, adeo ut 
vere ex ejus semine orta did possit. Madonna Giulia 
has grown somewhat stouter and is a most beautiful crea- 

69 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

ture. She let down her hair before me and had it dressed ; 
it reached down to her feet; never have I seen anything 
like it ; she has the most beautiful hair. She wore a head- 
dress of fine linen, and over it a sort of net, light as air, 
with gold threads interwoven in it. In truth it shone 
like the sun! I would have given a great deal if you 
could have been present to have informed yourself con- 
cerning that which you have often wanted to know. She 
wore a lined robe in the Neapolitan fashion, as did also 
Madonna Lueretia, who, after a little while, went out 
to remove it. She returned shortly in a gown almost en- 
tirely of violet velvet. "When vespers were over and the 
cardinals were departing, I left them. 

The close association with Giulia, to whose adulterous 
relations with her father Lueretia was the daily witness, 
if not a school of vice for her, at least must have kept her 
constantly in contact with it. Could a young creature of 
only fourteen years remain pure in such an atmosphere? 
Must not the immorality in the midst of which she was 
forced to live have poisoned her senses, dulled her ideas 
of morality and virtue, and finally have penetrated her 
own character? 



70 



\ 



CHAPTER IX 

LUCRETIA LEAVES ROME 

By the end of the year 1493 Alexander had amply pro- 
vided for all his children. Ccesar was a cardinal, Giovanni 
was a duke in Spain, and Giuffre was soon to become a 
Neapolitan prince. The last, the Pope's youngest son, was 
united in marriage, May 7, 1494, in Naples, to Donna 
Sancia the same day on which his father-in-law, Alfonso, 
ascending the throne as the successor of King Ferdinand, 
was crowned by the papal legate, Giovanni Borgia. Don 
Giuffre remained in Naples and became Prince of Squil- 
lace. Giovanni also received great fiefs in that kingdom, 
where he called himself Duke of Suessa and Prince of 
Teano. 

For some time longer Lucretia's spouse remained in 
Rome, where the Pope had taken him into his pay in ac- 
cordance with an agreement with Ludovico il Moro under 
whom Sforza served. His position at Alexander's court, 
however, soon became ambiguous. His uncles had married 
him to Lucretia to make the Pope a confederate and accom- 
plice in their schemes which were directed toward the over- 
throw of the reigning family of Naples. Alexander, how- 
ever, clung closely to the Aragonese dynasty; he invested 
King Alfonso with the title to the kingdom of Naples, and 
declared himself opposed to the expedition of Charles VIII. 

Sforza thereby was thrown into no slight perplexity, 
and early in April, 1494, he informed his uncle Ludovico of 
his dubious position in the following letter: 

71 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Yesterday his Holiness said to me in the presence of 
Monsignor (Cardinal Ascanio), " Well, Giovanni Sforza! 
What have you to say to me? ' : I answered, ' Holy 
Father, every one in Rome believes that your Holiness 
has entered into an agreement with the King of Naples, 
who is an enemy of the State of Milan. If this is so, I 
am in an awkward position, as I am in the pay of your 
Holiness and also in that of the State I have named. If 
things continue as they are, I do not know how I can serve 
one party without falling out with the other, and at the 
same time I do not wish to offend. I ask that your Holi- 
ness may be pleased to define my position so that I may not 
become an enemy of my own blood, and not act contrary 
to the obligations into which I have entered by virtue of 
my agreement with your Holiness and the illustrious State 
of Milan. ' ' He replied, saying that I took too much inter- 
est in his affairs, and that I should choose in whose pay I 
would remain according to my contract. And then he 
commanded the above-named monsignor to write to your 
Excellency what you will learn from his lordship's letter. 
My lord, if I had foreseen in what a position I was to be 
placed I would sooner have eaten the straw under my body 
than have entered into such an agreement. I cast myself 
in your arms. I beg your Excellency not to desert me, 
but to give me help, favor, and advice how to resolve the 
difficulty in which I am placed, so that I may remain a 
good servant of your Excellency. Preserve for me the 
position and the little nest which, thanks to the mercy of 
Milan, my ancestors left me, and I and my men of war will 
ever remain at the service of your Excellency. 

Giovanni Sforza. 

Rome, April, 1494. 

The letter plainly discloses other and deeper concerns 
of the writer ; such, for example, as the future possession of 
his domain of Pesaro. The Pope's plans to destroy all the 
little tyrannies and fiefs in the States of the Church had 
already been clearly revealed.* 

Shortly after this, April 23d, Cardinal della Rovere 
*This letter is printed in Atti e Memorie Modenesi, i. 433. 
72 



LUCRETIA LEAVES ROME 

slipped away from Ostia and into France to urge Charles 
VIII to invade Italy, not to attack Naples, but to bring this 
simoniacal pope before a council and depose him. 

At the beginning of July Ascanio Sforza, now openly 
at strife with Alexander, also left the city. He went to 
Genazzano and joined the Colonna, who were in the pay 
of France. Charles VIII was already preparing to invade 
Italy. The Pope and King Alfonso met at Vicovaro near 
Tivoli, July 14th. 

In the meantime important changes had taken place in 
Lucretia's palace. Her husband had hurriedly left Rome, 
as he could do as a captain of the Church, in which 
capacity he had to join the Neapolitan army, now 
being formed in Romagna under the command of the 
Duke Ferrante of Calabria. By his nuptial contract he 
was bound to take his bride with him to Pesaro. She was 
accompanied by her mother, Vannozza, Giulia Farnese, and 
Madonna Adriana. Alexander himself, through fear of the 
plague, which had appeared, commanded them to depart. 
The Mantuan ambassador in Rome reported this to 
the Marchese Gonzaga, May 6th, and also wrote him on 
the fifteenth as follows: " The illustrious Lord Giovanni 
will certainly set out Monday or Tuesday accompanied by 
all three ladies, who, by the Pope's order, will remain in 
Pesaro until August, when they will return. ' ' * 

Sforza 's departure must have taken place early in June, 
for on the eleventh of that month a letter from Ascanio 
was sent to his brother in Milan informing him that the 
lord of Pesaro with his wife and Madonna Giulia, the 
Pope's mistress, together with the mother of the Duke of 
Gandia, and Giuffre, had set out from Rome for Pesaro, and 

* Despatch of Giorgio Brognolo to the Marchese, Rome, May 6 and 
15, 1494. Archives of Mantua. 

73 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

that his Holiness had begged Madonna Giulia to come back 
soon.* 

Alexander had returned to Rome from Vicovaro, July 
18th, and on the 24th he wrote his daughter the following 
letter : 

Alexander VI, Pope ; by his own hand. 

Donna Lucretia, Dearest Daughter: For several 
days we have had no letter from you. Your neglect to 
write us often and tell us how you and Don Giovanni, our 
beloved son, are, causes us great surprise. In future be 
more heedful and more diligent. Madonna Adriana and 
Giulia have reached Capodimonte, where they found the 
latter 's brother dead. His death caused the cardinal and 
Giulia such distress that both fell sick of the fever. We 
have sent Pietro Caranza to look after them, and have 
provided physician's and everything necessary. We pray 
to God and the glorious Madonna that they will soon be 
restored. Of a truth Don Giovanni and yourself have 
displayed very little thought for me in this departure of 
Madonna Adriana and Giulia, since you allowed them to 
leave without our permission ; for you should have remem- 
bered — it was your duty — that such a sudden departure 
without our knowledge would cause us the greatest dis- 
pleasure. And if you say that they did so because Car- 
dinal Farnese commanded it, you ought to have asked 
yourself whether it would please the Pope. However, it 
is done; but another time we will be more careful, and 
will look about to see where our interest lies. We are, 
thanks to God and the glorious Virgin, very well. We 
have had an interview with the illustrious King Alfonso, 
who showed us no less love and obedience than he would 
have shown had he been our own son. I cannot tell you 
with what satisfaction and contentment we took leave of 
each other. You may be certain that his Majesty stands 
ready to place his own person and every thing he has in 
the world at our service. 

* Despatch of Jacomo Trotti to Duke Ercole, Milan, June 11, 1494. 
May 1st the women were still in Rome, for on that date Madonna Adriana 
wrote a letter from there to the Marchesa of Mantua recommending a 
friend to her. The letter is in the Mantuan archives. 

74 



LUCEETIA LEAVES ROME 

"We hope that all differences and quarrels in regard to 
the Colonna will be completely laid aside in three or four 
days. At present I have nothing more to say than to 
warn you to be careful of your health and constantly to 
pray to the Madonna. Given in Rome in S. Peter's, July 
24, 1494.* 

This letter is the first of the few extant written by 
Alexander to his daughter. His reproof was due to the 
sudden departure of his mistress — contrary to his original 
instructions — from Pesaro before August. From there 
Giulia went to Capodimonte to look after her sick brother 
Angiolo. According to a Venetian letter written by 
Marino Sanuto, she had left Rome chiefly for the purpose 
of attending the wedding of one of her kinsmen, and the 
writer describes her in this place as " the Pope's favorite, 
a young woman of great beauty and understanding, gra- 
cious and gentle." 

Alexander's letter shows us that his mistress remained 
in communication with him after her departure from 
Rome. 

* The letter is published in Ugolino's Storia dei Conti e Duchi d'Ur- 
bino, IT. Document No. 13. I saw the original in the state archives of 
Florence ; only the address is in Alexander's hand, the rest is written by 
the Chancellor Juan Lopez, who signs himself Jo. Datarius. 



75 



CHAPTER X 

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF PESARO 

The storm which suddenly broke upon Alexander did 
not disturb Lucretia, for on the eighth of June, 1494, she 
and her spouse entered Pesaro. In a pouring rain, which 
interrupted the reception festivities, she took possession of 
the palace of the Sforza, which was now to be her home. 

The history of Pesaro up to that time is briefly as 
follows : 

Ancient Pisaurum, which was founded by the Siculi, re- 
ceived its name from the river which empties into the sea 
not far from the city, and which is now known as the 
Foglia. In the year 570 of Rome the city became a Roman 
colony. From the time of Augustus it belonged to the 
fourth department of Italy, and from the time of Con- 
stantine to the province of Flaminia. After the fall of 
the Roman Empire it suffered the fate of all the Italian 
cities, especially in the great war of the Goths with the 
Eastern emperor. Vitiges destroyed it; Belisarius re- 
stored it. 

After the fall of the Gothic power, Pesaro was incor- 
porated in the Exarchate, and together with four other 
cities on the Adriatic — Ancona, Fano, Sinigaglia, and 
Rimini — constituted the Pentapolis. When Ravenna fell 
into the hands of the Lombard King Aistulf, Pesaro also 
became Lombard; but later, by the deed of Pipin and 
Charles, it passed into the possession of the Pope. 

76 



HISTORY OF PESAEO 

The subsequent history of the city is interwoven with 
that of the Empire, the Church and the March of An- 
cona. For a long time imperial counts resided there. 
Innocent III invested its title in Azzo d'Este, the Lord 
of the March. During the struggles of the Hohenstaufen 
with the papacy it first was in the possession of the em- 
peror and later in that of the Pope, who held it until the 
end of the thirteenth century, when the Malatesta became 
podestas, and subsequently lords of the city. This fa- 
mous Guelph family from the castle of Verrucchio, which 
lies between Rimini and S. Marino, fell heir to the fortress 
of Gradara, in the territory of Pesaro, and by degrees ex- 
tended its power in the direction of Ancona. In 1285 
Gianciotto Malatesta became lord of Pesaro, and on his 
death, in 1304, his brother Pandolfo inherited his do- 
main. 

From that time the Malatesta, lords of nearby Rimini, 
controlled not only Pesaro, but a large part of the March 
which they appropriated to themselves when the papacy 
was removed to Avignon. They secured themselves in the 
possession of Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, and Fossombrone by 
an agreement made during the life of the famous Gil 
d'Albornoz, confirming them in their position there as 
vicars of the Church. A branch of this house resided in 
Pesaro until the time of Galeazzo Malatesta. Threatened 
by his kinsman Sigismondo, the tyrant of Rimini, and 
unable to hold Pesaro against his attack, he sold the city 
in 1445 for twenty thousand gold florins to Count Fran- 
cesco Sforza, and the latter gave it as a fief to his brother 
Alessandro, the husband of a niece of Galeazzo. Sforza 
was the great condottiere who, after the departure of the 
Visconti, ascended the throne of Milan as the first duke of 
his house. While he was there establishing the ducal line 

. 77 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

of Sforza, his brother Alessandro became the founder of 
the ruling house of Pesaro. 

This brave captain took possession of Pesaro in March, 
1445 ; two years later he received the papal investiture of 
the fief. He was married to Costanza Varano, one of 
the most beautiful and intellectual women of the Italian 
Renaissance. 

To him she bore Costanzo and also a daughter, Bat- 
tista, who later, as the wife of Federico of Urbino, won 
universal admiration by her virtues and talents. The 
neighboring courts of Pesaro and Urbino were connected 
by marriage, and they vied with each other in fostering 
the arts and sciences. Another illegitimate daughter of 
Alessandro 's was Ginevra Sforza — a woman no less ad- 
mired in her day — celebrated, first as the wife of Sante 
and then as that of Giovanni Bentivoglio, Lord of Bo- 
logna. 

After the death of his wife, Alessandro Sforza married 
Sveva Montefeltre, a daughter of Guidantonio of Urbino. 
After a happy reign he died April 3, 1473, leaving his pos- 
sessions to his son. 

A year later Costanzo Sforza married Camilla Mar- 
zana d'Aragona, a beautiful and spirituelle princess of the 
royal house of Naples. He himself was brilliant and lib- 
eral. He died in 1483, when only thirty-six, leaving no 
legitimate heirs, his sons Giovanni and Galeazzo being 
natural children. His widow Camilla thenceforth con- 
ducted the government of Pesaro for herself and her step- 
son Giovanni until November, 1489, when she compelled 
him to assume entire control of it. 

Such was the history of the Sforza family of Pesaro, 
into which Lucretia now entered as the wife of this same 
Giovanni. 

78 



HISTORY OF PESARO 

The domain of the Sforza at that time embraced the 
city of Pesaro and a number of smaller possessions, called 
castles or villas; for example, S. Angelo in Lizzola, Can- 
delara, Montebaroccio, Tomba di Pesaro, Montelabbate, 
Gradara, Monte S. Maria, Novilara, Fiorenzuola, Castel 
di Mezzo, Ginestreto, Gabicce, Monteciccardo, and Monte 
Gaudio. In addition, Fossombrone was taken by the 
Sforzas from the Malatesta. 

The principality belonged, as we have seen, for a long 
time to the Church, then to the Malatesta, and later to the 
Sforza, who, under the title of vicars, held it as a he- 
reditary fief, paying the Church annually seven hundred 
and fifty gold ducats. The daughter of a Roman pontiff 
must, therefore, have been the most acceptable consort the 
tyrant of Pesaro could have secured under the existing cir- 
cumstances, especially as the popes were striving to destroy 
all the illegitimate powers in the States of the Church. 
When Lucretia saw how small and unimportant was her 
little kingdom, she must have felt that she did not rank 
with the women of Urbino, Ferrara, and Mantua, or with 
those of Milan and Bologna; but she, by the authority of 
the Pope, her own father, had become an independent 
princess, and, although her territory embraced only a few 
square miles, to Italy it was a costly bit of ground. 

Pesaro lies free and exposed in a wide valley. A chain 
of green hi'ls sweeps half around it like the seats in a 
theater, an the sea forms the stage. At the ends of the 
semicircle are two mountains, Monte Accio and Ardizio. 
The Foglia River flows through the valley. On its right 
bank lies the hospitable little city with its towers and 
walls, and its fortress on the white seashore. Northward, 
in the direction of Rimini, the mountains approach nearer 
the water, while to the south the shore is broader, and 

79 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

there, rising out of the mists of the sea, are the towers of 
Fano. A little farther Cape Ancona is visible. 

The sunny hills and their smiling valley under the 
blue canopy of heaven, and near the shimmering sea, 
form a picture of entrancing loveliness. It is the most 
peaceful spot on the Adriatic. It seems as if the breezes 
from sea and land wafted a lyric harmony over the valley, 
expanding the heart and filling the soul with visions of 
beauty and happiness. Pesaro is the birthplace of Rosini, 
and also of Terenzio Mamiani, the brilliant poet and 
statesman who devoted his great talents to the regeneration 
of Italy. 

The passions of the tyrants of this city were less fero- 
cious than were those of the other dynasties of that age, 
perhaps because their domain was too small a stage for the 
dark deeds inspired by inordinate ambition — although 
the human spirit does not always develop in harmony with 
the influences of nature. One of the most hideous of evil 
doers was Sigismondo Malatesta of mild and beautiful 
Rimini. The Sforzas of Pesaro, however, seem generous 
and humane rulers in comparison with their cousins of 
Milan. Their court was adorned by a number of noble 
women whom Lucretia may have felt it her duty to imi- 
tate. 

If, when Lucretia entered Pesaro, her soul — young as 
she was — was not already dead to all agreeable sensations, 
she must have enjoyed for the first time the blessed sense 
of freedom. To her, gloomy Rome, with the dismal 
Vatican and its passions and crimes, must have seemed 
like a prison from which she had escaped. It is true 
everything about her in Pesaro was small when com- 
pared with the greatness of Rome, but here she was re- 
moved from the direct influence of her father and brother, 

80 



DESCRIPTION OF PESAEO 

from whom she was separated by the Apennines and a dis- 
tance which, in that age, was great. 

The city of Pesaro, which now has more than twelve 
thousand, and with its adjacent territory over twenty 
thousand inhabitants had then about half as many. It 
had streets and squares with substantial specimens of 
Gothic architecture, interspersed, however, even then, with 
numerous palaces in the style of the Renaissance. A num- 
ber of cloisters and churches, whose ancient portals are 
still preserved, such as S. Domenico, S. Francesco, S. 
Agostino, and S. Giovanni, rendered the city imposing if 
not beautiful. 

Pesaro 's most important structures were the monu- 
ments of the ruling dynasty, the stronghold on the sea- 
shore and the palace facing the public square. The last 
was begun by Costanzo Sforza in 1474 and was completed 
by his son Giovanni. Even to-day his name may be seen 
on the marble tablet over the entrance. The castle with 
its four low, round towers or bastions, all in ruin, and sur- 
rounded by a moat, stands at the end of the city wall near 
the sea, and whatever strength it had was due to its en- 
vironment; in spite of its situation it appears so insig- 
nificant that one wonders how, even in those days when 
the science of gunnery was in its infancy, it could have 
had any value as a fortress. 

The Sforza palace is still standing on the little public 
square of which it occupies one whole side. It is an at- 
tractive, but not imposing structure with two large courts. 
The Delia Rovere, successors of the Sforza in Pesaro, 
beautified it during the sixteenth century; they built the 
noble facade which rests upon a series of six round arches. 
The Sforza arms have disappeared from the palace, but 
in many places over the portals and on the ceilings the 

6 81 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

inscription of Guidobaldus II, duke, and the Delia Rovere 
arms may be seen. Even in Lucretia's day the magnifi- 
cent banquet hall — the most beautiful room in the palace — 
was in existence, and its size made it worthy of a great 
monarch. The lack of decorations on the walls and of 
marble casings to the doors, like those in the castle of Ur- 
bino, which fill the beholder with wonder, show how limited 
were the means of the ruling dynasty of Pesaro. The rich 
ceiling of the salon, made of gilded and painted woodwork, 
dates from the reign of Duke Guidobaldo. All mementos 
of the time when Lucretia occupied the palace have dis- 
appeared ; it is animated by other memories — of the subse- 
quent court life of the Delia Rovere family, when Bembo, 
Castiglione, and Tasso frequently were guests there. Lu- 
cretia and the suite that accompanied her could not have 
filled the wide rooms of the palace; her mother, Madonna 
Adriana, and Giulia Farnese remained with her only a 
short time. A young Spanish woman in her retinue, 
Dofia Lucretia Lopez, a niece of Juan Lopez, chancellor 
and afterward cardinal, was married in Pesaro to Gian- 
francesco Ardizio, the physician and confidant of Gio- 
vanni Sforza. 

In the palace there were few kinsmen of her husband 
besides his younger brother Galeazzo, for the dynasty was 
not fruitful and was dying out. Even Camilla dAra- 
gona, Giovanni's stepmother, was not there, for she had 
left Pesaro for good in 1489, taking up her residence in a 
castle near Parma. 

In summer the beautiful landscape must have afforded 
the young princess much delight. She doubtless visited 
the neighboring castle of Urbino, where Guidobaldo di 
Montefetre and his spouse Elisabetta resided, and which 
the accomplished Federico had made an asylum for the 

82 




TASSO. 
From an engraving !>y Raffaelle Morjjhen. 



DESCRIPTION OF PESAEO 

cultivated. At that time Raphael, a boy of twelve, was 
living in Urbino, a diligent pupil in his father's school. 

In summer Lucretia removed to one of the beautiful 
villas on a neighboring hill. Her husband's favorite 
abode was Gradara, a lofty castle overlooking the road to 
Rimini, whose red walls and towers are still standing in 
good preservation. The most magnificent country place, 
however, was the Villa Imperiale, which is a half hour's 
journey from Pesaro, on Monte Accio, whence it looks down 
far over the land and sea. It is a splendid summer palace 
worthy of a great lord and of people of leisure, capable 
of enjoying the amenities of life. It was built by 
Alessandro Sforza in the year 1464, its corner-stone having 
been laid by the Emperor Frederic III when he was return- 
ing from his coronation as Emperor of Rome; hence it 
received the name Villa Imperiale. It was enlarged 
later by Eleonora Gonzaga, the wife of Francesco Maria 
della Rovere, the heir of Urbino, and Giovanni Sforza 's 
successor in the dominion of Pesaro. Famous painters 
decorated it with allegoric and historical pictures; Bembo 
and Bernardo Tasso sang of it in melodious numbers, and 
there, in the presence of the Della Rovere court, Torquato 
read his pastoral Aminta. This villa is now in a de- 
plorable state of decay. Pesaro offered but little in 
the way of entertainment for a young woman accus- 
tomed to the society of Rome. The city had no 
nobility of importance. The houses of Brizi, of Ondedei, 
of Giontini, Magistri, Lana, and Ardizi, in their patri- 
archal existence, could offer Lucretia no compensation for 
the inspiring intercourse with the grandees of Rome. It 
is true the wave of culture which, thanks to the humanists, 
was sweeping over Italy did reach Pesaro. The manu- 
facture of majolica, which, in its perfection, was not an 

83 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

unworthy successor of the pottery of Greece and Etruria, 
flourished there and in the neighboring cities on the Adri- 
atic, and as far as Umbria. It had reached a considerable 
development in the time of the Sforza. One of the oldest 
pieces of majolica in the Correro Museum in Venice, Solo- 
mon worshiping the idol, bears the date 1482. As early as 
the fourteenth century this art was cultivated in Pesaro, 
and it was in a very flourishing condition during the reign 
of Camilla d'Aragona. There are still some remains of the 
productions of the old craftsmen of the city in the State- 
house of Pesaro. 

There, too, the intellectual movement manifested itself 
in other fields, fostered by the Sforza or their wives, in 
emulation of Urbino and Rimini, where Sigismondo Mala- 
testa gathered about him poets and scholars whom he pen- 
sioned during their lives, and for whom, when dead, he 
built sarcophagi about the outer wall of the church. 
Camilla interested herself especially in the cultivation of 
the sciences. In 1489 she invited a noble Greek, Giorgio 
Diplovatazio, of Corfu, a kinsman of the Laskaris and the 
Vatazes, who, fleeing from the Turks, had come to Italy, 
and taken up his abode in Pesaro, where were living other 
Greek exiles of the Angeli, Komnenen, and Paleologue 
families. Diplovatazio had studied in Padua. Giovanni 
Sforza made him state's advocate of Pesaro in 1492, and 
he enjoyed a brilliant reputation as a jurisprudent until 
his death in 1541.* 

Lucretia, consequently, found this illustrious man in 
Pesaro and might have continued her studies under him 
and other natives of Greece if she was so disposed. A 
library, which the Sforzas had collected, provided her with 

* Memorie di Tommaso Diplovatazio Patrizio Constantinopolitano 
e Pesarese, da Annibale Olivieri. Pesaro, 1771. 

84 



DESCRIPTION OF PESARO 

the means for this end. Another scholar, however, no less 
famous, Pandolfo Collenuccio, a poet, orator, and philolo- 
gist, best known by his history of Naples, had left Pesaro 
before Lucretia took up her abode there. He had served 
the house of Sforza as secretary and in a diplomatic 
capacity, and to his eloquence Lucretia 's husband, Cos- 
tanzo's bastard, owed his investiture of the fief of Pesaro 
by Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII. Collenuccio, however, 
fell under his displeasure and was cast into prison in 1488 
and subsequently banished, when he went to Ferrara, where 
he devoted his services to the reigning family. He accom- 
panied Cardinal Ippolito to Rome, and here we find him 
in 1494 when Lucretia was about to take up her residence 
in Pesaro. In Rome she may have made the acquaintance 
of this scholar.* 

Nor was the young poet Guido Posthumus Silvester in 
Pesaro during her time, for he was then a student in 
Padua. Lucretia must have regretted the absence from her 
court of this soulful and aspiring poet, and her charm- 
ing personality might have served him for an inspiration 
for verses quite different from those which he later ad- 
dressed to the Borgias. 

Sforza 's beautiful consort was received with open arms 
in Pesaro, where she immediately made many friends. 
She was in the first charm of her youthful bloom, and 
fate had not yet brought the trouble into her life which 
subsequently made her the object either of horror or of 
pity. If she enjoyed any real love in her married life with 
Sforza she would have passed her days in Pesaro as 
happily as the queen of a pastoral comedy. But this 
was denied her. The dark shadows of the Vatican reached 

* Regarding Collenuccio see the works of his compatriot Giulio Per- 
ticari, Opp. Bologna, 1837. Vol. ii, 52 sqq. 

85 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

even to the Villa Imperiale on Monte Accio. Any day a 
despatch from her father might summon her back to Rome. 
Her stay in Pesaro may also have become too monotonous, 
too empty for her ; perhaps, also, her husband 's position as 
condottiere in the papal army and in that of Venice com- 
pelled him often to be away from his court. 

Events which in the meantime had convulsed Italy 
took Lucretia back to Rome, she having spent but a single 
year in Pesaro. 



86 



CHAPTER XI 

THE INVASION OF ITALY THE PEOFLIGATE WORLD 

Early in September, 1494, Charles VIII marched into 
Piedmont, and the affairs of all Italy suffered an immedi- 
ate change. The Pope and his allies Alfonso and Piero de' 
Medici found themselves almost defenseless in a short 
time. As early as November 17th the King entered Flor- 
ence. Alexander was anxious to meet him with his own 
and the Neapolitan troops at Viterbo, where Cardinal 
Farnese was legate; but the French overran the Patri- 
monium without hindrance, and even the Pope's mistress, 
her sister Girolama, and Madonna Adriana, who were 
Alexander's " heart and eyes," fell into the hands of a 
body of French scouts. 

The Mantuan agent, Brognolo, informed his master of 
this event in a despatch dated November 29, 1494: " A 
calamity has happened which is also a great insult to the 
Pope. Day before yesterday Madonna Hadriana and 
Madonna Giulia and her sister set out from their castle 
of Capodimonte to go to their brother the cardinal, in Vi- 
terbo, and, when about a mile from that place, they met a 
troop of French cavalry by whom they were taken prison- 
ers, and led to Montefiascone, together with their suite of 
twenty-five or thirty persons." 

The French captain who made this precious capture 
was Monseigneur d'Allegre, perhaps the same Ivo who 
subsequently entered the service of Caesar. " When he 

87 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

• 

learned who the beautiful women were he placed their 
ransom at three thousand ducats, and in a letter informed 
King Charles whom he had captured, but the latter re- 
fused to see them. Madonna Giulia wrote to Rome saying 
they were well treated, and asking that their ransom be 
sent. ' '* 

The knowledge of this catastrophe caused Alexander 
the greatest dismay. He immediately despatched a cham- 
berlain to Marino, where Cardinal Ascanio was to be found 
in the headquarters of the Colonna, and who, on his ur- 
gent request, had returned November 2d, and had had an 
interview with King Charles. He complained to the car- 
dinal of the indignity which had been put upon him, and 
asked his cooperation to secure the release of the prison- 
ers. He also wrote to Galeazzo of Sanseverino, who was 
accompanying the king to Siena, and who, wishing to please 
the Pope, urged Charles VIII to release the ladies. Ac- 
companied by an escort of four hundred of the French, 
they were led to the gates of Rome, where they were re- 
ceived December 1st by Juan Marades, the Pope 's chamber- 
lain.f 

This romantic adventure caused a sensation through- 
out all Italy. The people, instead of sympathizing with 
the Pope, ridiculed him mercilessly. A letter from Trotti, 
the Ferrarese ambassador at the court of Milan, to 

* This information is given by Marino Sanuto, Venuta di Carlo VIII, 
in Italia; original in the Paris library, also a copy in the Marciana. He 
calls Giulia ' ' f avorita del Pontefice, di eta giovane, et bellissima savia 
accorda et mansueta. 

\ According to one of Brognolo's despatches (Mantuan archives) 
Giulia and Adriana returned December 1st, on which date Pandolfo Col- 
lenuccio, who was in Rome, wrote, " Una optima novella ce e per alcuno. 
Che M a Julia si e recuperata, et andd Messer Joan Marrades per Lei. Et 
e venuta in Roma : e dicesi, che Domenica de nocte allogio in Palazzo." 
Archives of Modena. 

88 




CHARLES VIII. 
From an engraving by Pannier. 



THE INVASION OF ITALY 

Duke Ercole, quotes the words which Ludovico il Moro, 
the usurper of the throne of his nephew, whom he had 
poisoned, uttered on this occasion concerning the Pope. 

" He (Ludovico) gravely reproved Monsignor Ascanio 
and Cardinal Sanseverino for surrendering Madonna 
Giulia, Madonna Adriana, and Hieronyma to his Holiness ; 
for, since these ladies were the ' heart and eyes ' of the 
Pope, they would have been the best whip for compelling 
him to do everything which was wanted of him, for he 
could not live without them. The French, who captured 
them, received only three thousand ducats as ransom, al- 
though the Pope would gladly have paid fifty thousand or 
more simply to have them back again. The same duke re- 
ceived news from Rome, and also from Angelo in Florence, 
that when the ladies entered, his Holiness went to meet 
them arrayed in a black doublet bordered with gold 
brocade, with a beautiful belt in the Spanish fashion, and 
with sword and dagger. He wore Spanish boots and a 
velvet biretta, all very gallant. The duke asked me, laugh- 
ing, what I thought of it, and I told him that, were I the 
Duke of Milan, like him, I would endeavor, with the aid of 
the King of France and in every other way — and on the 
pretext of establishing peace — to entrap his Holiness, and 
with fair words, such as he himself was in the habit of 
using, to take him and the cardinals prisoners, which would 
be very easy. He who has the servant, as we say at home, 
has also the wagon and the oxen; and I reminded him of 
the verse of Catullus : ' Tu quoque f ac simile ars deluditur 
arte.' "* 

Ludovico, the worthy contemporary of the Borgias, once 
an intimate friend of Alexander VI, hated the Pope when 

* Despatch of Giacomo Trotti, Milan, December 21, 1494. Archives 
of Modena, 

89 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

he turned his face away from him and France, and he was 
especially embittered by the treacherous capture of his 
brother Ascanio. December 28th the same ambassador 
wrote to Ercole, " The Duke Ludovico told me that he 
was hourly expecting the arrival of Messer Bartolomeo 
da Calco with a courier bringing the news that the Pope 
was taken and beheaded. " * I leave it to the reader to 
decide whether Ludovico, simply owing to his hatred of the 
Pope, was slandering him and indulging in extravagances 
concerning him when he had this conversation with Trotti, 
and also when he publicly stated to his senate that " the 
Pope had allowed three women to come to him ; one of them 
being a nun of Valencia, the other a Castilian, the third 
a very beautiful girl from Venice, fifteen or sixteen years 
of age." " Here in Milan," continued Trotti in his des- 
patch, " the same scandalous things are related of the 
Pope as are told in Ferrara of the Torta. ' ' f 

Elsewhere we may read how Charles VIII, victorious 
without the trouble of winning battles, penetrated as far as 
Rome and Naples. His march through Italy is the most 
humiliating of all the invasions which the peninsula suf- 
fered ; but it shows that when states and peoples are ready 
for destruction, the strength of a weak-headed boy is 
sufficient to bring about their ruin. The Pope outwitted 
the French monarch, who, instead of having him deposed 
by a council, fell on his knees before him, acknowledged 
him to be Christ's vicar, and concluded a treaty with him. 

After this he set out for Naples, which shortly fell into 
his hands. Italy rose, a league against Charles VIII 

* Che li pareva ogni hora vedere messer Bartolomeo da Calcho venire 
a Sua Ecc 1 * cum una staffetta, chel papa fosse preso, e li fosse taliata la 
testa. 

f Trotti to the Duke of Ferrara, Milan, December 24, 1494. 

90 



THE INVASION OF ITALY 

was formed, and he was compelled to return. Alexander 
fled before him, first in the direction of Orvieto, and 
then toward Perugia. While there he summoned Gio- 
vanni Sforza, who arrived with his wife, June 16, 1495, 
remained four days, and then went back to Pesaro.* The 
King of France succeeded in breaking his way through 
the League 's army at the battle of the Taro, and thus hon- 
orably escaped death or capture. 

Having returned to Rome, Alexander established him- 
self still more firmly in the holy chair, about which he 
gathered his ambitious bastards, while the Borgias pushed 
themselves forward all the more audaciously because the 
confusion occasioned in the affairs of Italy by the invasion 
of Charles VIII made it all the easier for them to carry 
out their intentions. 

Lucretia remained a little longer in Pesaro with her 
husband, whom Venice had engaged in the interests of the 
League. Giovanni Sforza, however, does not appear to 
have been present either at the battle of the Taro or at 
the siege of Novara. When peace was declared in October, 
1495, between France and the Duke of Milan, whereby the 
war came to an end in Northern Italy, Sforza was able 
to take his wife back to Rome. Marino Sanuto speaks of 
her as having been in that city at the end of October, and 
Burchard gives us a picture of Lucretia at the Christmas 
festivities. 

While in the service of the League Sforza commanded 
three hundred foot soldiers and one hundred heavy horse. 
With these troops he set out for Naples in the spring of 
the following year, when the united forces lent the young 
King Ferrante II great assistance in the conflicts with the 

* This is the date given by Marino Sanuto in his Ms. History of the 
Invasion of Charles VIII, fol. 470. 

91 



LUCRETIA BOEGIA 

French troops under Montpensier. Even the Captain- 
general of Venice, the Marchese of Mantua, was there, and 
he entered Rome, March 26, 1496. Sforza with his merce- 
naries arrived in Rome, April 15th, only to leave the city 
again April 28th. His wife remained behind. May 4th he 
reached Fundi.* 

Alexander's two sons, Don Giovanni and Don Giuffre, 
were still away from Rome. One, the Duke of Gandia, was 
also in the pay of Venice, and was expected from Spain to 
take command of four hundred men which his lieutenant, 
Alovisio Bacheto, had enlisted for him. The other, Don 
Giuffre, had, as we have seen, gone to Naples in 1494, where 
he had married Donna Sancia and had been made Prince of 
Squillace. As a member of the house of Aragon he shared 
the dangers of the declining dynasty in the hope of in- 
ducing the Pope not to abandon it. He accompanied King 
Ferrante on his flight, and also followed his standard when, 
after the retreat of Charles VIII, he, with the help of 
Spain, Venice, and the Pope, again secured possession of 
his kingdom, entering Naples in the summer of 1495. 

Not until the following year did Don Giuffre and his 
wife come to Rome. In royal state they entered the 
Eternal City, May 20, 1496. The ambassadors, cardinals, 
officers of the city, and numerous nobles went to meet them 
at the Lateran gate. Lucretia also was there with her 
suite. The young couple were escorted to the Vatican. 
The Pope on his throne, surrounded by eleven cardinals, 
received his son and daughter-in-law. On his right hand 
he had Lucretia and on his left Sancia, sitting on cushions. 
It was Whitsuntide, and the two princesses and their 
suites boldly occupied the priests' benches in S. Peter's, 

* These dates are from the Diary of Marino Sanuto, vol. i. fol. 55, 
58, 85. 

92 



THE PROFLIGATE WORLD 

and, according to Burchard, the populace was greatly- 
shocked. 

Three months later, August 10, 1496, Alexander's eld- 
est son, Don Giovanni, Duke of Gandia, entered Rome, 
where he remained, his father having determined to make 
him a great prince.* It is not related whether he brought 
his wife, Donna Maria, with him. 

For the first time Alexander had all his children about 
him, and in the Borgo of the Vatican there were no less than 
three nepot-courts. Giovanni resided in the Vatican, Lu- 
eretia in the palace of S. Maria in Portico, Giuffre in the 
house of the Cardinal of Aleria near the Bridge of S. 
Angelo, and Caesar in the same Borgo. 

They all were pleasure-loving upstarts who were con- 
sumed with a desire for honors and power ; all were young 
and beautiful; except Lucretia, all were vicious, graceful, 
seductive scoundrels, and, as such, among the most charm- 
ing and attractive figures in the society of old Rome. For 
only the narrowest observer, blind to everything but their 
infamous deeds, can paint the Borgias simply as savage and 
cruel brutes, tiger-cubs by nature. They were privileged 
malefactors, like many other princes and potentates of that 
age. They mercilessly availed themselves of poison and 
poignard, removing every obstacle to their ambition, and 
smiled when the object was attained. 

If we could see the life which these unrestrained bas- 
tards led in the Vatican, where their father, conscious now 
of his security and greatness, was enthroned, we should 
indeed behold strange things. It was a singular drama 

* II di de S. Laurentio il Duca de Gandia figliuolo del Papa, intrd in 
Roma accompagnato dal Card, de Valentia, et tutta la corte con grand- 
issima pompa. Despatch of Ludovico Carissimi to the Duke of Fer- 
rara, Rome, August 15, 1498. Archives of Modena. 

93 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

which was being enacted in the domain of S. Peter, where 
two young and beautiful women held a dazzling court, 
which was always animated by swarms of Spanish and 
Italian lords and ladies and the elegant world of Rome. 
Nobles and monsignori crowded around to pay homage to 
these women, one of whom, Lucretia, was just sixteen, and 
the other, Sancia, a little more than seventeen years of age. 
We may imagine what love intrigues took place in the 
palace of these young women, and how jealousy and am- 
bition there carried on their intricate game, for no one will 
believe that these princesses, full of the passion and exuber- 
ance of youth, led the life of nuns or saints in the shadows 
of S. Peter's. Their palace resounded with music and the 
dance, and the noise of revels and of masquerades. The 
populace saw these women accompanied by splendid caval- 
cades riding through the streets of Rome to the Vatican; 
they knew that the Pope was in daily intercourse with 
them, visiting them in person and taking part in their fes- 
tivities, and also receiving them, now privately, and now 
with ceremonious pomp, as befitted princesses of his house. 
Alexander himself, much as he was addicted to the pleas- 
ures of the senses, cared nothing for elaborate banquets. 
Concerning the Pope, the Ferrarese ambassador wrote to 
his master in 1495 as follows: 

He partakes of but a single dish, though this must be a 
rich one. It is, consequently, a bore to dine with him. 
Ascanio and others, especially Cardinal Monreale, who for- 
merly were his Holiness 's table companions, and Valenza 
too, broke off this companionship because his parsimony dis- 
pleased them, and avoided it whenever and however they 
could.* 

The doings in the Vatican furnished ground for endless 
gossip, which had long been current in Rome. It was re- 
* Boccaccio to Ercole, March 24, 1495. 
94 




SAVONAROLA. 
From a painting by Fra Bartolonnneo. 



THE PROFLIGATE WORLD 

lated in Venice, in October, 1496, that the Duke of Gandia 
had brought a Spanish woman to his father, with whom he 
lived, and an account was given of a crime which is al- 
most incredible, although it was related by the Venetian am- 
bassador and other persons.* 

It was not long before Donna Sancia caused herself to 
be freely gossiped about. She was beautiful and thought- 
less; she appreciated her position as the daughter of a king. 
From the most vicious of courts she was transplanted into 
the depravity of Rome as the wife of an immature boy. It 
was said that her brothers-in-law Gandia and Ceesar quar- 
reled over her and possessed her in turn, and that young 
nobles and cardinals like Ippolito d'Este could boast of 
having enjoyed her favors. 

Savonarola may have had these nepot-courts in mind 
when, from the pulpit of S. Marco in Florence, he de- 
claimed in burning words against the Roman Sodom. 

Even if the voice of the great preacher, whose words 
were filling all Italy, did not reach Lucretia's ears, from 
her own experience she must have known how profligate 
was the world in which she lived. About her she saw vice 
shamelessly displayed or cloaked in sacerdotal robes; she 
was conscious of the ambition and avarice which hesitated 

* The report is given in Diar. Marino Sanuto, vol. i, 258, and is re- 
printed in part in the Civilta Cattolica, March 15, 1873, p. 727. The 
entire passage is as follows: Da Roma per le lettere del orator nostro se 
intese et etiam de private persone cossa assai aboininevole in la chiesa 
di Dio che al papa erra nato un fiolo di una dona romana maridata ch'el 
padre l'havea rufianata e di questa il marito invito il suocero ala vigna 
el lo uccise tagliandoli el capo ponendo quello sopra uno legno con letere 
che dicera questo e il capo de mio suocero che a rufianato sua fiola al 
papa et che inteso questo il papa fece raetter el dito in exilio di Roma 
con Taglia. Questa nova vene per letere particular etiam si godea con 
la sua spagnola menatali di spagna per suo fiol duca di Gandia nova- 
mente li venuto. 

95 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

at no crime ; she beheld a religion more pagan than pagan- 
ism itself, and a church service in which the sacred actors, 
— with whose conduct behind the scenes she was perfectly 
familiar, — were the priests, the cardinals, her brother 
Cassar, and her own father. All this Lucretia beheld, but 
they are wrong who believe that she or others like her saw 
and regarded it as we do now, or as a few pure-minded per- 
sons of that age did ; for familiarity always dulls the aver- 
age person's perception of the truth. In that age the con- 
ceptions of religion, of decency, and of morality were en- 
tirely different from those of to-day. When the rupture 
between the Middle Ages and its ascetic Church and the Re- 
naissance was complete, human passions threw off every 
restraint. All that had hitherto been regarded as sacred 
was now derided. The freethinkers of Italy created a litera- 
ture never equaled for bold cynicism. From the Herma- 
phroditus of Beccadeli to the works of Berni and Pietro 
Aretino, a foul stream of novelle, epigrams, and comedies, 
from which the serious Dante would have turned his eyes 
in disgust, overflowed the land. 

Even in the less sensual novelle, the first of which was 
Piccolomini 's Euryalus, and the less obscene comedies, 
adultery and derision of marriage are the leading motives. 
The harlots were the Muses of belleslettres during the 
Renaissance. They boldly took their place by the side of 
the saints of the Church, and contended with them for 
fame's laurels. There is a manuscript collection of poems 
of the time of Alexander VI which contains a series of epi- 
grams beginning with a number in praise of the Holy Vir- 
gin and the Saints, and then, without word or warning, are 
several glorifying the famous cyprians of the day; follow- 
ing a stanza on S. Pauline is an epigram on Meretrieis 
Nichine, a well-known courtesan of Siena, with several 

96 



THE PEOPLIGATE WORLD 

more of the same sort. The saints of heaven and the priest- 
esses of Venus are placed side by side, without comment, as 
equally admirable women.* 

No self-respecting woman would now attend the per- 
formance of a comedy of the Renaissance, whose characters 
frequently represented the popes, the princes, and the 
noble women of the day; and their presentation, even 
before audiences composed entirely of men, would 
now be prohibited by the censor of the theater in every 
land. 

The naturalness with which women of the South even 
now discuss subjects which people in the North are care- 
ful to conceal excites astonishment ; but what was tolerated 
by the taste or morals of the Renaissance is absolutely in- 
credible. We must remember, however, that this obscene 
literature was by no means so diffused as novels are at the 
present time, and also that Southern familiarity with 
whatever is natural also served to protect women. Much 
was external, and was so treated that it had no effect 
whatever upon the imagination. In the midst of the vices 
of the society of the cities there were noble women who 
kept themselves pure. 

To form an idea of the morals of the great, and espe- 
cially of the courts of that day, we must read the history of 
the Visconti, the Sforza, the Malatesta of Rimini, the Bag- 
lione of Perugia, and the Borgias of Rome. They were not 
more immoral than the members of the courts of Louis XIV 
and XV and of August of Saxony, but their murders ren- 
dered tbem more terrible. Human life was held to be 
of little value, but criminal egotism often was qualified 
by greatness of mind (magnanimitas), so that a bloody 

* Epitaphia clarissimarum mulierum que virtute : arte : aut aliqua nota 
claruerunt. Codex Hartmann Scheclel in the State Library of Munich. 

7 97 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

deed prompted by avarice and ambition was often con- 
doned. 

Egotism and the selfish use of conditions and men for 
the profit of the individual were never so universal as in 
the country of Macchiavelli, where unfortunately they still 
are frequently in evidence. Free from the pedantic opin- 
ions of the Germans and the reverence for condition, rank, 
and birth which they have inherited from the Middle Ages ; 
the Italians, on the other hand, always recognized the force 
of personality — no matter whether it was that of a bastard 
or not — but they, nevertheless, were just as likely to be- 
come the slaves of the successful. Macchiavelli maintains 
that the Church and the priests were responsible for the 
moral ruin of the peninsula — but were not the Church and 
these priests themselves products of Italy? He should 
have said that characteristics which were inherent in the 
Germanic races were foreign to the Italians. Luther could 
never have appeared among them. 

While our opinion of Alexander VI and Caesar is gov- 
erned by ethical considerations, this was not the case with 
Guicciardini, and less still with Macchiavelli. They exam- 
ined not the moral but the political man, not his motives 
but his acts. The terrible was not terrible when it was the 
deed of a strong will, nor was crime disgraceful when it 
excited astonishment as a work of art. The terrible way 
in which Ferdinand of Naples handled the conspiracy of 
the nobles of his kingdom made him, in the eyes of Italy, 
not horrible but great ; and Macchiavelli speaks of the trick 
with which Caesar Borgia outwitted his treacherous con- 
dottieri at Sinigaglia as a " masterstroke," while the 
Bishop Paolo Giovio called it ' ' the most beautiful piece of 
deception." In that world of egotism where there was no 
tribunal of public opinion, man could preserve himself 

98 



THE PROFLIGATE WORLD 

only by overpowering power and by outwitting cunning 
with craft. While the French regarded, and still regard, 
" ridiculous " as the worst of epithets, the Italian dreaded 
none more than that of ' ' simpleton. ' ' 

Macchiavelli, in a well-known passage in his Discorsi 
(i. 27), explains his theory with terrible frankness, and 
his words are the exact keynote of the ethics of his age. 
He relates how Julius II ventured into Perugia, although 
Giampolo Baglione had gathered a large number of troops 
there, and how the latter, overawed by the Pope, surren- 
dered the city to him. His comment is verbatim as fol- 
lows : ' ' People of judgment who were with the Pope won- 
dered at his foolhardiness, and at Giampolo 's cowardice; 
they could not understand why the latter did not, to his 
everlasting fame, crush his enemy with one blow and en- 
rich himself with the plunder, for the Pope was accom- 
panied by all his cardinals with their jewels. They could 
not believe that he refrained on account of any goodness or 
any conscientious scruples, for the heart of a wicked man, 
who committed incest with his sister, and destroyed his 
cousins and nephews so he might rule, could not be acces- 
sible to any feelings of respect. So they came to the con- 
clusion that there are men who can neither be honorably 
bad nor yet perfectly good, who do not know how to go 
about committing a crime, great in itself or possessing a 
certain splendor. This was the case with Giampolo; he 
who thought nothing of incest and the murder of his kins- 
men did not know how, or rather did not dare, in spite of 
the propitious moment, to perform a deed which would 
have caused every one to admire his courage, and would 
have won for him an immortal name. For he would first 
have shown the priests how small men are in reality who 
live and rule as they do, and he would have been the first 

LoFC. " 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

to accomplish a deed whose greatness would have dazzled 
every one, and would have removed every danger which 
might have arisen from it." 

Is it any wonder that in view of such a prostitution 
of morals to the conception of success, fame, and magnifi- 
cence, as Maechiavelli here and in II Principe advocates, 
men like the Borgias found the widest field for their bold 
crimes ? They well knew that the greatness of a crime con- 
cealed the shame of it. The celebrated poet Strozzi in Fer- 
rara placed Caesar Borgia, after his fall, among the heroes 
of Olympus; and the famous Bembo, one of the first men 
of the age, endeavors to console Lucretia Borgia on the 
death of the " miserable little " Alexander VI, whom he at 
the same time calls her ' ' great ' ' father. 

No upright man, conscious of his own worth, would now 
enter the service of a prince stained by such crimes as were 
the Borgias, if it were possible for such a one now to exist, 
which is wholly unlikely. But then the best and most 
upright of men sought, without any scruples whatever, the 
presence and favors of the Borgias. Pinturicchio and 
Perugino painted for Alexander VI, and the most wonder- 
ful genius of the century, Leonardo da Vinci, did not hesi- 
tate to enter the service of Caesar Borgia as his engineer, to 
erect fortresses for him in the same Romagna which he had 
appropriated by such devilish means. 

The men of the Renaissance were in a high degree ener- 
getic and creative ; they shaped the world with a revolution- 
ary energy and a feverish activity, in comparison with 
which the modern processes of civilization almost vanish. 
Their instincts were rougher and more powerful, and their 
nerves stronger than those of the present race. It will 
always appear strange that the tenderest blossoms of art, 
the most ideal creations of the painter, put forth in the 

100 




NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI. 
From an engraving by G. Marri. 



THE PEOFLIGATE WORLD 

midst of a society whose moral perversity and inward 
brutality are to us moderns altogether loathsome. If we 
could take a man such as our civilization now produces and 
transfer him into the Renaissance, the daily brutality 
which made no impression whatever on the men of that age 
would shatter his nervous system and probably upset his 
reason. 

Lucretia Borgia lived in Rome surrounded by these pas- 
sions, and she was neither better nor worse than the women 
of her time. She was thoughtless and was filled with the 
joy of living. We do not know that she ever went 
through any moral struggles or whether she ever found her- 
self in conscious conflict with the actualities of her life and 
of her environment. Her father maintained an elabo- 
rate household for her, and she was in daily intercourse 
with her brothers' courts. She was their companion and 
the ornament of their banquets ; she was entrusted with the 
secret of all the Vatican intrigues which had any connec- 
tion with the future of the Borgias, and all her vital in- 
terests were soon to be concentrated there. 

Never, even in the later years of her life, does she appear 
as a woman of unusual genius; she had none of the char- 
acteristics of the viragos Catarina Sforza and Ginevra 
Bentivoglio; nor did she possess the deceitful soul of an 
Isotta da Rimini, or the spirituelle genius of Isabella Gon- 
zaga. If she had not been the daughter of Alexander VI 
and the sister of Cassar Borgia, she would have been un- 
noticed by the historians of her age or, at most, would have 
been mentioned only as one of the many charming women 
who constituted the society of Rome. In the hands of her 
father and her brother, however, she became the tool and 
also the victim of their political machinations, against which 
she had not the strength to make any resistance. 

101 



CHAPTER XII 

THE DIVORCE AND SECOND MARRIAGE 

After the surrender of the remnant of the French 
forces in the fall of 1496, Giovanni Sforza returned from 
Naples. There is no doubt that he went to Rome for the 
purpose of taking Lucretia home with him to Pesaro, where 
we find him about the close of the year, and where he spent 
the winter. The chroniclers of Pesaro, however, state that 
he left the city in disguise, January 15, 1497, and that 
Lucretia followed him a few days later for the purpose 
of going to Rome.* Both were present at the Easter fes- 
tivities in the papal city. 

Sforza was now a worn-out plaything which Alexander 
was preparing to cast away, for his daughter's marriage 
to the tyrant of Pesaro promised him nothing more, the 
house of Sforza having lost all its influence; moreover, 
the times were propitious for establishing connections 
which would be of greater advantage to the Borgias. The 
Pope was unwilling to give his son-in-law a command in 
the war against the Orsini, which he had begun immedi- 
ately after the return of his son Don Giovanni from 
Spain, for whom he wanted to confiscate the property of 
these mighty lords. He secured the services of Duke 
Guidobaldo of Urbino, who likewise had served in the 
allied armies of Naples, and whom the Venetians released 

* Lod. Zacconi, Hist, di Pesaro, Ms. in the Bibl. Oliveriana ; also 
Pietro Marzetti. 

102 



DIVOECE AND SECOND MARRIAGE 

in order that he might assume supreme command of the 
papal troops. 

This noble man was the last of the house of Monte- 
feltre, and the Borgias already had their eyes on his pos- 
sessions. His sister Giovanna was married in 1478 to the 
municipal prefect, Giovanni dell a Rovere, a brother of Car- 
dinal Giuliano, and in 1490 she bore him a daughter, Fran- 
cesca Maria, a child who was looked upon as heir of Ur- 
bino. Guidobaldo did not disdain to serve as a condot- 
tiere for pay and in the hope of winning honors; he was 
also a vassal of the Church. Pear of the Borgias led him 
to seek their friendship although he hated them. 

In the war against the Orsini the young Duke of 
Gandia was next in command under Guidobaldo, and 
Alexander made him the standard-bearer of the Church 
and Rector of Viterbo, and of the entire Patrimonium 
after he had removed Alessandro Farnese from that posi- 
tion. This appears to have been due to a dislike he felt 
for Giulia's brother. September 17, 1496, the Mantuan 
agent in Rome, John Carolus, wrote to the Marchioness 
Gonzaga: " Cardinal Farnese is shut up in his residence 
in the Patrimonium, and will lose it unless he is saved by 
the prompt return of Giulia." 

The same ambassador reported to his sovereign as fol- 
lows: " Although every effort is made to conceal the fact 
that these sons of the Pope are consumed with envy of 
each other, the life of the Cardinal of S. Giorgio (Rafael 
Riario) is in danger; should he die, Caasar would be given 
the office of chancellor and the palace of the dead Car- 
dinal of Mantua, which is the most beautiful in Rome, 
and also his most lucrative benefices. Your Excellency 
may guess how this plot will terminate. ' ' * 

* Letters in the Gonzaga archives in Mantua. 
103 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

The war against the Orsini ended with the ignominious 
defeat of the papal forces at Soriano, January 23, 1497, 
whence Don Giovanni, wounded, fled to Rome, and where 
Guidobaldo was taken prisoner. The victors immedi- 
ately forced a peace on most advantageous terms. 

Not until the conclusion of the war did Lucretia's hus- 
band return to Eome. We shall see him again there, for 
the last time, at the Easter festivities of 1497, when, as 
Alexander's son-in-law, he assumed his official place dur- 
ing the celebration in S. Peter's, and, standing near Cassar 
and Gandia, received the Easter palm from the Pope's 
hand. His position in the Vatican had, however, become 
untenable; Alexander was anxious to dissolve his mar- 
riage with Lucretia. Sforza was asked to give her up of 
his own free will, and, when he refused, was threatened 
with extreme measures. 

Flight alone saved him from the dagger or poison of 
his brothers-in-law. According to statements of the 
chroniclers of Pesaro, it was Lucretia herself who helped 
her husband to flee and thus caused the suspicion that she 
was also a participant in the conspiracy. It is related 
that, one evening when Jacomino, Lord Giovanni's cham- 
berlain, was in Madonna's room, her brother Caesar 
entered, and on her command the chamberlain concealed 
himself behind a screen. Cassar talked freely with his 
sister, and among other things said that the order had 
been given to kill Sforza. "When he had departed, Lu- 
cretia said to Jacomino: " Did you hear what was said? 
Go and tell him." This the chamberlain immediately 
did, and Giovanni Sforza threw himself on a Turkish 
horse and rode in twenty- four hours to Pesaro, where the 
beast dropped dead.* 

* Battista Almerici I, and Pietro Marzetti, Memorie di Pesaro, Ms 
104 



DIVORCE AND SECOND MARRIAGE 

According to letters of the Venetian envoy in Rome, 
Sforza fled in March, in Holy Week. Under some pretext 
he went to the Church of S. Onofrio, where he found 
the horse waiting for him.* 

The request for the divorce was probably not made 
by Lucretia, but by her father and brothers, who wished 
her to be free to enter into a marriage which would 
advance their plans. We are ignorant of what was now 
taking place in the Vatican, and we do not know that Lu- 
cretia made any resistance ; but if she did, it certainly was 
not of long duration, for she does not appear to have 
loved her husband. Pesaro's escape did not please the 
Borgias. They would have preferred to have silenced this 
man forever; but now that he had gotten away and raised 
an objection, it would be necessary to dissolve the mar- 
riage by process of law, which would cause a great scandal. 

Shortly after Sforza 's flight a terrible tragedy oc- 
curred in the house of Borgia — the mysterious murder 
of the Duke of Gandia. On the failure of Alexander's 
scheme to confiscate the estates of the Orsini and be- 
stow them on his dearly beloved son, he thought to pro- 
vide for him in another manner. He made him Duke of 
Benevento, thereby hoping to prepare the way for him to 
reach the throne of Naples. A few days later, June 14th, 
Vannozza invited him and Cassar, together with a few of 
their kinsmen, to a supper in her vineyard near S. Pietro 
in Vinculo. Don Giovanni, returning from this family 
feast, disappeared in the night, without leaving a trace, 
and three days later the body of the murdered man was 
found in the Tiber. 

in the Oliveriana. These chronicles are often confusing as to dates and 
full of mistakes. 

* Marino Sanuto, Diar. vol. i, 410. March, 1497. 

105 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

According to the general opinion of the day, which 
in all probability was correct, Caesar was the murderer of 
his brother. From the moment Alexander VI knew this 
crime had been committed, and assumed responsibility for 
its motives and consequences, and pardoned the murderer, 
he became morally accessory after the fact, and fell him- 
self under the power of his terrible son. From that time 
on, every act of his was intended to further Caesar 's fiendish 
ambition. 

None of the records of the day say that Don Gio- 
vanni's consort was in Rome when this tragedy occurred. 
We are therefore forced to assume that she was not there 
when her husband was murdered. It is much more likely 
that she had not left Spain, and that she was living with 
her two little children in Gandia or Valencia, where she 
received the dreadful news in a letter written by 
Alexander to his sister Doiia Beatrice Boria y Arenos. 
This is rendered probable by the court records of Valen- 
cia. September 27, 1497, Dona Maria Enriquez appeared 
before the tribunal of the governor of the kingdom of 
Valencia, Don Luis de Cabaineles, and claimed the estate, 
including the duchy of Gandia and the Neapolitan fiefs 
of Suessa, Teano, Carinola, and Montefoscolo, for Don 
Giovanni's eldest son, a child of three years. The duke's 
death was proved by legal documents, among which was 
this letter written by Alexander, and the tribunal accord- 
ingly recognized Gandia 's son as his legal heir.* 

Doiia Maria also claimed her husband's personal 
property in his house in Rome, which was valued at thirty 
thousand ducats, and which on the death of Don Giovanni, 
had been transferred by Alexander VI, to the fratricide 

* This document is given in part by Amati in Strozzi's Periodico di 
Numisraatica, Anno III, part ii, p. 73. Florence, 1870. 

106 



DIVORCE AND SECOND MARRIAGE 

CaBsar to administer for his nephew, as appears from an 
official document of the Eoman notary Beneimbene, dated 
December 19, 1498. 

At this time Lucretia was not in her palace in the Vati- 
can. June 4th she had gone to the convent of S. Sisto on 
the Appian Way, thereby causing a great sensation in 
Rome. Her flight doubtless was in some way connected 
with the forced annulment of her marriage. While her 
father himself may not have banished her to S. Sisto, she, 
probably excited by Pesaro 's departure, and perhaps angry 
with the Pope, had doubtless sought this place as an 
asylum. That she was angry with him is shown by a 
letter written by Donato Aretino from Rome, June 19th, 
to Cardinal Ippolito d'Este: " Madonna Lucretia has 
left the palace insalutato hospite and gone to a convent 
known as that of S. Sisto ; where she now is. Some say she 
will turn nun, while others make different statements 
which I can not entrust to a letter. ' ' * 

We know not what prayers and what confessions Lu- 
cretia made at the altar, but this was one of the most mo- 
mentous periods of her life. While in the convent she 
learned of the terrible death of one of her brothers, and 
shuddered at the crime of the other. For she, like her 
father and all the Borgias, firmly believed that Caesar 
was a fatricide. She clearly discerned the marks of 
his inordinate ambition; she knew that he was planning 
to lay aside the cardinal's robe and become a secular 
prince ; she must have known too that they were scheming 
in the Vatican to make Don Giuffre a cardinal in Caesar's 
place and to marry the latter to the former's wife, Donna 
Sancia, with whom, it was generally known, he was on most 
intimate terms. 

* In the archives of Modena. Letters of Donato Aretino from Rome. 

107 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Alexander commanded Giuffre and his young wife to 
leave Rome and take up their abode in his princely seat in 
Squillace, and he set out on August 7th fo." that place. It 
is stated the Pope did not want his children and nepots 
about him any longer, and that he also wished to banish 
his daughter Lucretia to Valencia.* 

In the meantime, in July, Caesar had gone to Capua as 
papal legate, where he crowned Don Federico, the last of 
the Aragonese, as King of Naples. September 4th he 
returned to Rome. 

Alexander had appointed a commission under the 
direction of two cardinals for the purpose of divorcing 
Lucretia from Giovanni Sforza. These judges showed 
that Sforza had never consummated the marriage, and 
that his spouse was still a virgin, which, according to her 
contemporary Matarazzo of Perugia, set all Italy to 
laughing. Lucretia herself stated she was willing to swear 
to this. 

During these proceedings her spouse was in Pesaro. 
Thence he subsequently went in disguise to Milan to ask 
the protection of Duke Ludovico and to get him to use 
his influence to have his wife, who had been taken away, 
restored to him. This was in June. He protested 
against the decision which had been pronounced in Rome, 
and which had been purchased, and Ludovico il Moro made 
the naive suggestion that he subject himself to a test of his 
capacity in the presence of trustworthy witnesses, and of 
the papal legate in Milan, which, however, Sforza declined 
to do.f Ludovico and his brother Ascanio finally induced 

* Letter of Ludovico Carissimi, Rome, August 8, 1497. Archives of 
Modena. 

f Et mancho se e curato de fare prova de se qua con Done per poterne 
chiarire el Rmo. Legato che era qua, sebbene S. Ex tia tastandolo sopra 
ci6 gli ne habia facto offerta. Despatch from the Ferrarese ambassador 

108 



DIVORCE AND SECOND MARRIAGE 

their kinsman to yield, and Sforza, intimidated, declared in 
writing that he had never consummated his marriage with 
Lucretia.* 

The formal divorce, therefore, took place December 20, 
1497, and Sforza surrendered his wife's dowry of thirty- 
one thousand ducats. 

Although we may assume that Alexander compelled his 
daughter to consent to this separation, it does not render 
our opinion of Lucretia 's part in the scandalous proceed- 
ings any less severe ; she shows herself to have had as little 
will as she had character, and she also perjured herself. 
Her punishment was not long delayed, for the divorce pro- 
ceedings made her notorious and started terrible rumors re- 
garding her private life. These reports began to circulate 
at the time of the murder of Gandia and of her divorce 
from Sforza; the cause of both these events was stated 
to have been an unmentionable crime. According to a re- 
liable witness of the day it was the lord of Pesaro himself, 
injured and exasperated, who first — and to the Duke of 
Milan — had openly uttered the suspicion which was being 
whispered about Rome. By permitting himself to do this, 
he showed that he had never loved Lucretia.f 

in Milan, Antonio Costabili, to Duke Ercole, Milan, June 23, 1497. 
Archives of Modena. 

* Concerning this, Pandolfo Collenuccio, a member of Cardinal Ip- 
polito's suite in Rome, wrote to the Duke of Ferrara, December 25, 1498 
(1497), as follows : El S. de Pesaro ha scripto qua de sua mano : non 
haverla mai cognoseiuta . . . et esser impotente, alias la sententia non 
se potea dare ... El prefato S. dice perd haver scripto cosi per 
obedire el Duca de Milano et Aschanio. The autographic letter is in the 
archives of Modena. 

f In the same despatch from Milan, June 23, 1497, the Ferrarese Am- 
bassador Costabili stated that Sforza had said to the Duke Ludovico: 
Anzi haverla conosciuta infinite volte, ma chel Papa non gelha tolta per 
altro se non per usare con Lei. Extendendose molto a carico di S. 
Beat" 9 . 

109 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Alexander had dissolved his daughter's marriage for 
political reasons. It was his purpose to marry Lucretia and 
Caesar into the royal house of Naples. This dynasty had 
reestablished itself there after the expulsion of the French, 
but its position had been so profoundly shaken that its fall 
was imminent; and it was this very fact that made Alex- 
ander hope to be able to place his son Caasar on the throne 
of Naples. The most terrible of the Borgias now appropri- 
ated the place left vacant by the Duke of Gandia, to which 
he had long aspired, and only for the sake of appearances 
did he postpone casting aside the cardinal's robe. The 
Pope, however, was already scheming for his son's mar- 
riage ; for him he asked King Federieo for the hand of his 
daughter Carlotta, who had been educated at the court of 
France as a princess of the house of Savoy. The king, an 
upright man, firmly refused, and the young princess in hor- 
ror rejected the Pope's insulting offer. Federieo, in his 
anxiety, made one sacrifice to the monster in the Vatican ; 
he consented to the betrothal of Don Alfonso, Prince of 
Salerno, younger brother of Donna Sancia and natural son 
of Alfonso II, to Lucretia. Alexander desired this mar- 
riage for no other reason than for the purpose of finally 
inducing the king to agree to the marriage of his daughter 
and Caesar. 

Even before Lucretia 's new betrothal was settled upon 
it was rumored in Rome that her former affianced, Don 
Gasparo, was again pressing his suit and that there was a 
prospect of his being accepted. Although the young Span- 
iard failed to accomplish his purpose, Alexander now recog- 
nized the fact that Lucretia 's betrothal to him had been dis- 
solved illegally. 

In a brief dated June 10, 1498, he speaks of the way 
his daughter was treated — without special dispensation for 

110 



DIVOECE AND SECOND MARRIAGE 

breaking the engagement, in order that she might marry 
Giovanni of Pesaro, which was a great mistake — as illegal. 
He says in the same letter that Gasparo of Proeida, Count 
of Almenara, had subsequently married and had children, 
but not until 1498 did Lucretia petition to have her be- 
trothal to him formally declared null and void. The Pope, 
therefore, absolved her of the perjury she had committed 
by marrying Giovanni Sforza in spite of her engagement 
to Don Gasparo, and while he now, for the first time, de- 
clared her formal betrothal to the Count of Proeida to 
have been dissolved, he gave her permission to marry any 
man whom she might select.* Thus did a pope play fast 
and loose with one of the holiest of the sacraments of the 
Church. 

When Lucretia had in this way been protected against 
the demands of all pretenders to her hand, she was free 
to enter into a new alliance, which she did June 20, 1498, 
in the Vatican. If we were not familiar with the character 
of the public men of that age we should be surprised to 
learn that King Federico's proxy on this occasion was 
none other than Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, who had 
been instrumental in bringing about the marriage of his 
nephew and Lucretia, and who had consented in Sforza 's 
name to the disgraceful divorce. Thus were he and his 
brother Ludovico determined to retain the friendship of 
the Borgias at any price. 

Lucretia received a dowry of forty thousand ducats, 
and the King of Naples bound himself to make over the 
cities of Quadrata and Biselli to his nephew for his duke- 
dom.f 

* The original of this letter is in the archives of Modena. 
f Bisceglie, formerly pronounced and written Biseglia or Biselli. 
Quadrata is now Corato, near Andria. 

Ill 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

The young Alfonso accordingly came to Koine in July 
to become the husband of a woman whom he must have re- 
garded at least as unscrupulous and utterly fickle. He 
doubtless looked upon himself as a sacrifice presented by 
his father at the altar of Rome. Quietly and sorrowfully, 
welcomed by no festivities, almost secretly, came this un- 
happy youth to the papal city. He went at once to his be- 
trothed in the palace of S. Maria in Portico. In the Vati- 
can, July 21st, the marriage was blessed by the Church. 
Among the witnesses to the transaction were the Cardinals 
Ascanio, Juan Lopez, and Giovanni Borgia. In obedience 
to an old custom a naked sword was held over the pair by 
a knight, a ceremony which in this instance was performed 
by Giovanni Cervillon, captain of the papal guard. 



112 



CHAPTER XIII 



A REGENT AND A MOTHER 



Lucretia, now Duchess of Biselli, had been living since 
July, 1498, with a new husband, a youth of seventeen, she 
herself having just completed her eighteenth year. She 
and her consort did not go to Naples, but remained in 
Rome; for, as the Mantuan agent reported to his master, 
it was expressly agreed that Don Alfonso should live in 
Rome a year, and that Lucretia should not be required to 
take up her abode in the kingdom of Naples during her 
father's lifetime.* 

The youthful Alfonso was fair and amiable. Talini, a 
Roman chronicler of that day, pronounced him the hand- 
somest young man ever seen in the Imperial City. Ac- 
cording to a statement made by the Mantuan agent in 
August, Lucretia was really fond of him. A sudden 
change in affairs, however, deprived her of the calm joys 
of domestic life. 

The moving principle in the Vatican was the measure- 
less ambition of Caesar, who was consuming with impa- 
tience to become a ruling sovereign. August 13, 1498, he 
flung aside the cardinal 's robes and prepared to set out for 
France; Louis XII, who in April had succeeded Charles 
VIII, having promised him the title of Duke of Valenti- 
nois and the hand of a French princess. Alexander pro- 
vided for his son's retinue with regal extravagance. 

* Despatch of Joh. Lucidus Cataneus, Rome, August 8, 1498. Gon- 
zaga archives. 

8 113 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

It happened one day that a train of mules laden with 
silks and cloth of gold on the way to Cassar in Rome was 
plundered by the people of Cardinal Farnese and of his 
cousin Pier Paolo in the forest of Bolsena, whereupon the 
Pope addressed some vigorous communications to the car- 
dinal, in whose territory, he stated, the robbery had been 
committed.* 

In the service of the Farnese were numerous Corsicans, 
some as mercenaries and bullies, some as field laborers, 
and these people, who were universally feared, probably 
were the guilty ones, for it is difficult to believe that Car- 
dinal Alessandro would have undertaken such a venture 
on his own account. It seems, however, that the rela- 
tions of the Borgias and the Farnese were somewhat 
strained during this period. The cardinal spent most of 
his time on his family estates, and at this juncture little 
was heard of his sister Giulia. It is not even known 
whether or not she was living in Rome and continuing her 
relations with the Pope, although, from subsequent revela- 
tions, it appears that she was. April 2, 1499, we find the 
cardinal and his sister again in Rome, where a nuptial 
contract was concluded in the Farnese palace between 
Laura Orsini, Giulia 's seven-year-old daughter, and Fede- 
rico Farnese, the twelve-year-old son of the deceased con- 
dottiere Raimondo Farnese, a nephew of Pier Paolo. 
Laura's putative father, Orsino Orsini, was present at the 
ceremony.f 

It was probably Adriana and Giulia who were en- 
deavoring to bring about a reconciliation between the 
house of Orsini and the Borgias. In the spring of 1498 
these barons, having issued victorious from their war with 

* The briefs are in the state archives of Venice, 
f The instrument is in Beneimbene's protocol-book. 

114 



A REGENT AND A MOTHER 

the Pope, began a bitter contest with their hereditary foes, 
the Colonna, which, however, ended in their own defeat. 
These houses made peace with each other in July, a fact 
which caused Alexander no little anxiety, for upon the 
hostility of these, the two mightiest families of Rome, de- 
pended the Pope's dominion over the city; his greatest 
danger lay in their mutual friendship. He therefore en- 
deavored again to set them at loggerheads, and he suc- 
ceeded in attaching the Orsini to himself, — which they sub- 
sequently had reason to regret. He accomplished his pur- 
pose so well that they intermarried with the Borgias ; Paolo 
Orsini, Giambattista's brother, uniting his son Fabio with 
Girolama, a sister of Cardinal Giovanni Borgia the 
younger, September 8, 1498. The marriage contract was 
concluded in the presence of the Pope and a brilliant 
gathering in the Vatican, and one of the official witnesses 
was Don Alfonso of Biselli, who held the sword over the 
young couple.* 

Shortly afterwards, October first, Cassar Borgia set 
sail for France, where he was made Duke of Valentinois, 
and where, in May, 1499, he married Charlotte d'Albret, 
sister of the King of Navarre. At this court he met two 
men who were destined later to exercise great influence 
upon his career — George of Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen, 
to whom he had brought the cardinal's hat, and Giuliano 
della Rovere. The latter, hitherto Alexander's bitterest 
enemy, now suffered himself, by the intermediation of the 
King of France, to be won over to the cause of the Bor- 
gias; he permitted himself even to become Ccesar's step- 
ping-stone to greatness. 

The reconciliation was sealed by a marriage between 
the two families; the city prefect, Giovanni della Rovere, 

* The instrument is in Beneimbene's protocol-book. 
115 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Giuliano's brother, betrothing his eighteen-year-old son 
Francesco Maria to Angela Borgia, September 2, 1500. 

Angela's father, Giuffre, was a son of Giovanni, sister 
of Alexander VI, and of Guglielmo Lanzol. Giovanni 
Borgia the younger, Cardinal Ludovico, and Rodrigo, cap- 
tain of the papal guard, were her brothers. Her sister 
Girolama, as above stated, was married to Fabio Orsini. 
The ceremony of Angela's betrothal took place in the 
Vatican in the presence of the ambassador of France. 

For the purpose of driving Ludovico il Moro from 
Milan, Louis XII had concluded an alliance with Venice, 
which the Pope also joined on the condition that France 
would help his son to acquire Romagna. 

Ascanio Sforza, who was unable to prevent the loss 
of Milan, and who knew that his own life was in danger in 
Rome, fled July 13, 1499, to Genazzano and subsequently 
to Genoa. 

His example was followed by Lucretia's youthful con- 
sort. We do not know what occurred in the Vatican to 
cause Don Alfonso quietly to leave Rome, where he had 
spent but a single year with Lucretia. We can only say 
that his decision must have been brought about by some 
turn which the Pope's politics had taken. The object of 
the expedition of Louis XII was not only the overthrow 
of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, but also the seizure of 
Naples; it was intended to be a sequel to the attempt of 
Charles VIII, which was defeated by the great League. 
The young prince was aware of the Pope's intention to 
destroy his uncle Federico, who had deeply offended him 
by refusing to grant Caesar the hand of his daughter Car- 
lotta. After this occurrence the relations of Lucretia's 
husband with the Pope had altogether changed. 

Ascanio was the only friend the unfortunate prince 
116 



A REGENT AND A MOTHER 

had in Rome, and it was probably he who advised him to 
save himself from certain death by flight, as Lucretia's 
other husband had done. Alfonso slipped away August 2, 
1499. The Pope sent some troopers after him, but they 
failed to catch him. It is uncertain whether Lucretia knew 
of his intended flight. A letter written in Rome by a Vene- 
tian, August 4th, merely says: " The Duke of Biseglia, 
Madonna Lucretia's husband, has secretly fled and gone 
to the Colonna in Genazzano; he deserted his wife, who 
has been with child for six months, and she is constantly 
in tears."* 

She was in the power of her father, who, highly in- 
censed by the prince's flight, banished Alfonso's sister 
Donna Sancia to Naples. 

Lucretia's position, owing to these circumstances, be- 
came exceedingly trying. Her tears show that she pos- 
sessed a heart. She loved, and perhaps for the first time. 
Alfonso wrote her from Genazzano, urgently imploring 
her to follow him, and his letters fell into the hands of the 
Pope, who compelled her to write her husband and ask him 
to return. It was doubtless his daughter's complaining 
that induced Alexander to send her away from Rome. 
August 8th he made her Regent of Spoleto. Hitherto papal 
legates, usually cardinals, had governed this city and the 
surrounding territory ; but now the Pope entrusted its ad- 
ministration to a young woman of nineteen, his own 
daughter, and thither she repaired. 

He gave her a letter to the priors of Spoleto which was 
as follows: 

Dear Sons : Greeting and the Apostolic Blessing ! We 
have entrusted to our beloved daughter in Christ, the noble 
lady, Lucretia de Borgia, Duchess of Biseglia, the office of 
* Diary of Marino Sanuto, ii, 751. 

117 



LUCEETIA BOEGIA 

keeper of the castle, as well as the government of our cities 
of Spoleto and Foligno, and of the county and district about 
them. Having perfect confidence in the intelligence, the 
fidelity, and probity of the Duchess, which We have dwelt 
upon in previous letters, and likewise in your unfailing 
obedience to Us and to the Holy See, We trust that you will 
receive the Duchess Lucretia, as is your duty, with all 
due honor as your regent, and show her submission in all 
things. As We wish her to be received and accepted by 
you with special honor and respect, so do We command 
you in this epistle — as you value Our favor and wish to 
avoid Our displeasure — to obey the Duchess Lucretia, your 
regent, in all things collectively and severally, in so far as 
law and custom dictate in the government of the city, and 
whatever she may think proper to exact of you, even as 
you would obey Ourselves, and to execute her commands 
with all diligence and promptness, so that your devotion 
may receive due approbation. Given in Rome, in St. 
Peter's, under the papal seal, August 8, 1499. 

Hadrianus ( Secretary ) .* 

Lucretia left Rome for her new home the same day. 
She set out with a large retinue, and accompanied by her 
brother Don Giuffre ; Fabio Orsini, now the consort of Giro- 
lama Borgia, her kinswoman; and a company of archers. 
She left the Vatican mounted on horseback, the governor 
of the city, the Neapolitan ambassador, and a number of 
other gentlemen forming an escort to act as a guard of 
honor, while her father took a position in a loggia over 
the portal of the palace of the Vatican to watch his de- 
parting daughter and her cavalcade. For the first time 
he found himself in Rome deprived of all his children. 

Lucretia made the journey partly on horseback and 

partly in a litter, and the trip from Rome to Spoleto 

required not less than six days. At Porcaria, in 

Umbria, she found a deputation of citizens of Spoleto 

* This brief is in the state archives of Spoleto. 

118 



A REGENT AND A MOTHER 

waiting to greet her, and to accompany her to the 
city, which had been famous since the time of Hannibal, 
and which had been the seat of the mighty Lombard 
dukes. The castle of Spoleto is very ancient, its earliest 
portions dating from the Dukes Faroald and Grimoald. 
In the fourteenth century it was restored by the great 
Gil d'Albornoz, the contemporary of Cola di Rienzi, and 
it was completed shortly afterwards by Nicholas V. It is 
a magnificent piece of Renaissance architecture, overlook- 
ing the old city and the deep ravine which separates it from 
Monte Luco. From its high windows one may look out 
over the valley of the Clitunno and that of the Tiber, the 
fertile Umbrian plain, and, on the east, to the Apennines. 

August 15th Lucretia Borgia received the priors of 
the city, to whom she presented her papal appointment, 
whereupon they swore allegiance to her. Later the com- 
mune gave a banquet in her honor. 

Lucretia 's stay in Spoleto was short. Her regency 
there was merely intended to signify the actual taking 
possession of the territory which Alexander desired to 
bestow upon his daughter. 

In the meantime her husband Alfonso had decided, 
unfortunately for himself, to obey Alexander's command 
and return to his wife — perhaps because he really loved 
her. The Pope ordered him to go to Spoleto by way of 
Foligno, and then to come with his spouse to Nepi, where 
he himself intended to be. The purpose of this meeting 
was to establish his daughter as sovereign there also. 

Nepi had never been a baronial fief, although the pre- 
fects of Vico and the Orsini had held the place at differ- 
ent times. The Church through its deputies governed the 
town and surrounding country. When Alexander was a 
cardinal his uncle Calixtus had made him governor of 

119 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

the city, and such he remained until he was raised to the 
papal throne, when he conferred Nepi upon Cardinal 
Ascanio Sforza. The neatly written parchment contain- 
ing the municipal statute confirming Ascanio 's appoint- 
ment, which is dated January 1, 1495, is still preserved 
in the archives of the city. At the beginning of the year 
1499, however, Alexander again assumed control of Nepi 
by compelling the castellan, who commanded the fortress 
for the truant Ascanio, to surrender it to him. He now 
invested his daughter with the castle, the city, and the 
domain of Nepi.* September 4, 1499, Francesco Borgia, 
the Pope's treasurer, who was also Bishop of Teano, took 
possession of the city in her name. 

September 25th Alexander himself, accompanied by 
four cardinals, went to Nepi. In the castle, which he had 
restored, he met Lucretia and her husband, and also her 
brother Don Giuffre. He returned to Rome almost imme- 
diately — October 1st. On the tenth he addressed a brief 
from there to the city of Nepi, in which he commanded the 
municipality thenceforth to obey Lucretia, Duchess of 
Biselli, as their true sovereign. On the twelfth he sent 
his daughter a communication in which he empowered her 
to remit certain taxes to which the citizens of Nepi had 
hitherto been subject, f 

Lucretia, therefore, had become the mistress of two 
large domains — a fact which clearly shows that she stood 
in high favor with her father. She did not again return 
to Spoleto, but entrusted its government to a lieutenant. 
Although Alexander made Cardinal Gurk legate for 

* The Bull of Investiture, written on parchment, is dated Rome, 
1499, Non. (the month is not given). It is an absolute donum. The 
document is now in the archives of Modena. 

f Both briefs are preserved in the archives of the State-house of 
Nepi. 

120 



A KEGENT AND A MOTHER 

Perugia and Todi early in October, he reserved Spoleto for 
his daughter. Later, August 10, 1500, he made Ludovico 
Borgia — who was Archbishop of Valencia — governor of 
this city, without, however, impairing his daughter's 
rights to the large revenue which the territory yielded. 

As early as October 14th Lucretia returned to Rome. 
November 1, 1499, she gave birth to a son, who was named, 
in honor of the Pope, Rodrigo. Her firstborn was bap- 
tized with great pomp November 11th in the Sistine 
Chapel — not the chapel now known by that name, but the 
one which Sixtus IV had built in S. Peter's. Giovanni 
Cervillon held the child in his arms, and near by were 
the Governor of Rome and a representative of the Em- 
peror Maximilian. All the cardinals, the ambassadors of 
England, Venice, Naples, Savoy, Siena, and the Republic 
of Florence were present at the ceremony. The governor 
of the city held the child over the font. The godfathers 
were Podocatharo, Bishop of Caputaqua, and Ferrari, 
Bishop of Modena. 

In the meantime, October 6th, Louis XII had taken 
possession of Milan, Ludovico Sforza having fled, on the 
approach of the French forces, to the Emperor Maximilian. 
In accordance with his agreement with Alexander, the king 
now lent troops to Caesar Borgia to enable him to seize the 
Romagna, where it was proclaimed that the vassals of the 
Church, the Malatesta of Rimini, the Sforza of Pesaro, the 
Riario of Imola and Forli, the Varano of Camerino, and 
the Manfredi of Faenza had forfeited their fiefs to the 
Pope. 

Csesar went to Rome, November 18, 1499. He stayed in 
the Vatican three days and then set forth again to join 
his army, which was besieging Imola. It was his inten- 
tion first to take this city and then attack Forli, in the 

121 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

castle of which the mistress of the two cities, Catarina 
Sforza, had established herself for the purpose of resisting 
him. 

While he was engaged in his campaigns in Romagna, 
his father was endeavoring to seize the hereditary posses- 
sions of the Roman barons. He first attacked the Gaetani. 
From the end of the thirteenth century this ancient family 
had held large landed estates in the Campagna and Mari- 
tima. It had divided into several branches, one of which 
was settled in the vicinity of Naples. There the Gaetani 
were Dukes of Traetto, Counts of Fundi and Caserta, and 
likewise vassals and favorites of the crown of Naples. 

Sermoneta, the center of the domain of the Gaetani 
family in the Roman Campagna, was an ancient city with 
a feudal castle, situated in the foothills of the Volscian 
mountains. Above it and to one side were the ruins of 
the great castle of Norba ; below were the beautiful remains 
of Nymsa; while at its foot, extending to the sea, lay the 
Pontine marshes. The greater part of this territory, 
which was traversed by the Appian Way, including the 
Cape of Circello, was the property of the Gaetani, to 
whom it still belongs. 

At the time of which we are speaking it was ruled by 
the sons of Honoratus II, a powerful personality, who had 
raised his house from ruin. He died in the year 1490, 
leaving a widow, Catarina Orsini, and three sons — Nicola 
the prothonotary ; Giaeomo, and Guglielmo. His daughter 
Giovanella was the wife of Pierluigi Farnese and mother 
of Giulia. Nicola, who had married Eleonora Orsini, died 
in the year 1494; consequently, next to the prothonotary 
Giaeomo, Guglielmo Gaetani was head of the house of 
Sermoneta. 

Alexander lured the prothonotary to Rome and, having 

122 



A REGENT AND A MOTHER 

confined him in the castle of S. Angelo, began a process 
against him. Guglielmo succeeded in escaping to Mantua, 
but Nicola's little son Bernardino was murdered by the 
Borgia hirelings. Sermoneta was besieged, and its inhab- 
itants surrendered without resistance. 

As early as March 9, 1499, Alexander compelled the 
apostolic chamber to sell his daughter the possessions of 
the Gaetani for eighty thousand ducats. He stated in a 
document, which was signed by eighteen cardinals, that 
the magnitude of the expenditures which he had recently 
made in the interests of the Holy See compelled him to in- 
crease the Church property, and for this purpose there 
were Sermoneta, Bassiano, Ninfa and Norma, Tivera, Cis- 
terna, San Felice (the Cape of Circello), and San Donato, 
which, owing to the rebellion of the Gaetani, might be con- 
fiscated. This transaction was concluded in February, 
1500, and Lucretia, who was already mistress of Spoleto and 
Nepi, thus became ruler of Sermoneta.* In vain did the 
unfortunate Giacomo Gaetami protest from his prison; 
July 5, 1500, he was poisoned. His mother and sisters 
buried him in S. Bartolomeo, which stands on an island 
in the Tiber, where the Gaetani had owned a palace for 
a great many years. 

Giulia Farnese, therefore, was unable to save her own 
uncle. She was reminded that Giacomo and Nicola had 
stood beside her when she was married to the youthful 
Orsini in 1489 in the Borgia palace. We do not know 
whether Giulia was living in Rome at this time. We occa- 
sionally find her name in the epigrams of the day, and 
it appears in a satire, Dialogue between Death and the] 
Pope, sick of a Fever, in which he called upon Giulia to 

* The documents concerning this sale, dated February 11 to 15, 
1500, are preserved in the archives of Modena. 

123 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

save him, whereupon Death replied that his mistress had 
borne him three or four children. As the satire was writ- 
ten in the summer of 1500, when Alexander was suffering 
from the fever, it is probable that his relations with Giulia 
still continued. 

CaBsar, who had taken Imola, December 1, 1499, was 
far from pleased when he saw the great estates of the Gae- 
tani, whose revenues he himself could use to good advan- 
tage, bestowed upon his sister; and, as he himself wished 
absolutely to control the will of his father, her growing 
influence in the Vatican caused him no little annoyance. 
He had sinister plans for whose execution the time was 
soon to prove propitious. 



124 



CHAPTER XIV 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BORGIAS 



Lucretia certainly must have been pleased by her 
brother's long absence; the Vatican was less turbulent. 
Besides herself only Don Giuffre and Donna Sancia, who 
had effected her return, maintained a court there. 

"We might avail ourselves of this period of quiet to de- 
pict Lucretia 's private life, her court, and the people about 
her; but it is impossible to do this, none of her contempo- 
raries having left any description of it. Even Burchard 
shows us Lucretia but rarely, and when he does it is 
always in connection with affairs in the Vatican. Only 
once does he give us a fleeting view of her palace — on 
February 27, 1496 — when Giovanni Borgia, Juan de 
Castro, and the recently created Cardinal Martinus of 
Segovia were calling upon her. 

None of the foreign diplomatists of that time, so far as 
we may learn from their despatches, made any reports 
regarding Lucretia 's private life. We have only a few 
letters written by her during her residence in Rome, and 
there is not a single poem dedicated to her or which men- 
tions her; therefore it is due to the malicious epigrams of 
Sannazzaro and Pontanus that she has been branded as 
the most depraved of courtesans. If there ever was a 
young woman, however, likely to excite the imagination 
of the poet, Lucretia Borgia in the bloom of her youth 
and beauty was that woman. Her connection with the 
Vatican, the mystery which surrounded her, and the fate 

125 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

she suffered, make her one of the most fascinating women 
of her age. Doubtless there are buried in various libraries 
numerous verses dedicated to her by the Roman poets who 
must have swarmed at the court of the Pope's daughter 
to render homage to her beauty and to seek her patronage. 

In Rome, Lucretia had an opportunity to enjoy, if she 
were so disposed, the society of many brilliant men, for 
even during the sovereignty of the Borgias the Muses were 
banished neither from the Vatican nor from Rome. It 
can not be denied, however, that the daughters of princely 
houses were allowed to devote themselves to the cultivation 
of the intellect more freely at the secular courts of Italy 
than they were at the papal court. Not until Lucretia 
went to Ferrara to live was she able to endeavor to emulate 
the example of the princesses of Mantua and Urbino. 
While living in Rome she was too young and her environ- 
ment too narrow for her to have had any influence upon 
the literary and aesthetic circles of that city, although, 
owing to her position, she must have been acquainted with 
them. 

Her father was not incapable of intellectual pleasures; 
he had his court minstrels and poets. The famous Aurelio 
Brandolini, who died in 1497, was wont to improvise to 
the strains of the lute during banquets in the Vatican and 
in Lucretia 's palace. Caesar's favorite, Serafino of Aquila, 
the Petrarch of his age, who died in Rome in the year 
1500, still a young man, aspired to the same honor. 

Caesar himself was interested in poetry and the arts, 
just as were all the cultivated men and tyrants of the 
Renaissance. His court poet was Francesco Sperulo, who 
served under his standard, and who sang his campaigns in 
Romagna and in the neighborhood of Camerino.* A num- 

* Manuscript in the Vatican, No. 5205. 
126 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BORGIAS 

ber of Roman poets who subsequently became famous re- 
cited their verses in the presence of Lucretia, among them 
Emilio Voccabella and Evangelista Fausto Maddaleni. 
Even at that time the three brothers Mario, Girolamo, and 
Celso Mellini enjoyed great renown as poets and orators, 
while the brothers of the house of Porcaro — Camillo, Vale- 
rio, and Antonio — were equally famous. We have already 
noted that Antonio was one of the witnesses at the marriage 
of Girolama Borgia in the year 1482, and that he subse- 
quently was Lucretia 's proxy when she was betrothed to 
Centelles in 1491. These facts show how closely and how 
long the Porcaro were allied to the Borgias. 

This Roman family had been made famous in the 
history of the city by the fate of Stefano, Cola di Rienzi's 
successor. The Porcaro claimed descent from the Catos, 
and for this reason many of them adopted the name Por- 
cius. Enjoying friendly relations with the Borgias, they 
claimed them as kinsmen, stating that Isabella, the mother 
of Alexander VI, was descended from the Roman Porcaro, 
who somehow had passed to Spain. The similarity of 
sound in the Latin names Borgius and Porcius gave some 
appearance of truth to this pretension. 

Next to Antonio, Hieronymus Porcius was one of the 
most brilliant retainers of the house of Borgia. Alexander, 
upon his election to the papal throne, made him auditor of 
the Ruota (the Papal Court of Appeals). He was the 
author of a work printed in Rome in September, 1493, 
under the title Commentarius Porcius, which was dedicated 
to the King and Queen of Spain. In it he describes the 
election and coronation of Alexander VI, and quotes por- 
tions of the declarations of loyalty which the Italian en- 
voys addressed to the Pope. Court flattery could not be 
carried further than it was in this case by Hieronymus, 

127 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

an affected pedant, an empty-headed braggart, a fanat- 
ical papist. Alexander made him Bishop of Andria and 
Governor of the Romagna. In 1497 Hieronymiis, then 
in Cesena, composed a dialogue on Savonarola and his 
" heresy concerning the power of the Pope." The kernel 
of the whole thing was the fundamental doctrine of the 
infallibilists ; namely, that only those who blindly obey 
the Pope are good Christians.* 

Porcius also essayed poetry, celebrating the magnifi- 
cence of the Pope and Cardinal Ca?sar, whom, in his verses 
on the Borgia Steer, he described as his greatest benefactor. 
Apparently he was also the author of the elegy on the 
death of the Duke of Gandia, which is still preserved. 

Phaedra Inghirami, the famous student of Cicero, whom 
Erasmus admired and whom Raphael rendered immortal 
by his portrait, doubtless made the acquaintance of the 
Borgias and of Lucretia through the Porcaro. Even as 
early as this he was attracting the attention of Rome. 
Inghirami delivered an oration at the mass which the 
Spanish ambassador had said for the Infante Don Juan, 
January 16, 1498, in S. Jacopo in Navona, which was 
greatly admired. He also made a reputation as an actor 
in Cardinal Rafael Riario's theater. 

The drama was then putting forth its first fruits, not 
only at the courts of the Este and Gonzaga families, but 
also in Rome. Alexander himself, owing to his sensuous 
nature, was especially fond of it, and had comedies and 
ballets performed at all the family festivities in the Vati- 
can. The actors were young students from the Academy 
of Pomponius Laetus, and we have every reason to believe 
that Inghirami, the Mellini, and the Porcaro took part in 

* Collocutores itinerantes Tuscus et Renins, Roma? in Campo Flora?, 
1497. 

128 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BORGIAS 

these performances whenever the opportunity was offered. 
Carlo Canale, Vannozza's consort, must also have lent 
valuable assistance, for he had been familiar with the 
stage in Mantua; and no less important was the aid of 
Pandolfo Collenuccio, who had repeatedly been Ferrara's 
ambassador in Rome, where he enjoyed daily intercourse 
with the Borgias. 

The celebrated Pomponius, to whom Rome was in- 
debted for the revival of the theater, spent his last years, 
during the reign of Alexander, in the enjoyment of the 
highest popular esteem. Alexander himself may have 
been one of his pupils, as Cardinal Farnese certainly was. 
Pomponius died June 6, 1498, and the same pope who had 
sent Savonarola to the stake had his court attend the ob- 
sequies of the great representative of classic paganism, 
which were held in the Church of Aracoeli, a fact which 
lends additional support to the belief that he was person- 
ally known to the Borgias. Moreover, one of his most 
devoted pupils, Michele Ferno, had for a long time been 
a firm adherent of Alexander. Although the Pope in 1501 
issued the first edict of censorship, he was not an enemy of 
the sciences. He fostered the University of Rome, several 
of whose chairs were at that time held by men of note; 
for example, Petrus Sabinus and John Argyropulos. One 
of the greatest geniuses — one whose light has blessed all 
mankind — was for a year an ornament of this university 
and of the reign of Alexander; Copernicus came to Rome 
from far away Prussia in the jubilee year 1500, and lec- 
tured on mathematics and astronomy. 

Among Alexander's courtiers there were many bril- 
liant men whose society Lucretia must have had an op- 
portunity to enjoy. Burchard, the master of ceremonies, 
laid down the rules for all the functions in which the 

9 129 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Pope's daughter took part. He must have called upon 
her frequently, but she could scarcely have foreseen that, 
centuries later, this Alsatian's notes would constitute the 
mirror in which posterity would see the reflections of the 
Borgias. His diary, however, gives no details concerning 
Lucretia's private life — this did not come within his duties. 

Never did any other chronicler describe the things 
about him so clearly and so concisely, so dryly, and with 
so little feeling — things which were worthy of the pen of 
a Tacitus. That Burchard was not friendly to the Bor- 
gias is proved by the way his diary is written; it, how- 
ever, is absolutely truthful. This man well knew how to 
conceal his feelings — if the dull routine of his office had 
left him any. He went through the daily ceremonial of 
the Vatican mechanically, and kept his place there under 
five popes. Burchard must have seemed to the Borgias a 
harmless pedant; for if not, would they have permitted 
him to behold and describe their doings and yet live? 
Even the little which he did write in his diary concerning 
events of the day would have cost him his head had it 
come to the knowledge of Alexander or Caesar. It appears, 
however, that the diaries of the masters of ceremony were 
not subjected to official censorship. Csesar would have 
spared him no more than he did his father's favorite, Pedro 
Calderon Perotto, whom he stabbed, and Cervillon, whom 
he had killed — both of whom frequently performed im- 
portant parts in the ceremonies in the Vatican. 

Nor did he spare the private secretary, Francesco 
Troche, whom Alexander VI had often employed in diplo- 
matic affairs. Troche, according to a Venetian report a 
Spaniard, was, like Canale, a cultivated humanist, and 
like him, he was also on friendly terms with the house of 
Gonzaga. There are still in existence letters of his to the 

130 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BORGIAS 

Marchioness Gonzaga, in which he asks her to send him 
certain sonnets she had composed. She likewise writes to 
him regarding family matters, and also asks him to find 
her an antique cupid in Rome. There is no doubt but that 
he was one of Lucretia's most intimate acquaintances. In 
June, 1503, Caesar had also this favorite of his father 
strangled. 

Besides Burchard and Lorenz Behaim, there was an- 
other German who was familiar with the family affairs of 
the Borgias, Goritz of Luxemburg, who subsequently, dur- 
ing the reigns of Julius II and Leo X, became famous as 
an academician. Even in Alexander's time the cultivated 
world of Rome was in the habit of meeting at Goritz 's 
house in Trajan's Forum for the purpose of engaging in 
academic discussions. All the Germans who came to 
Rome sought him out, and he must have received Reuchlin, 
who visited that city in 1498, and subsequently Coper- 
nicus, Erasmus, and Ulrich von Hutten, who remembered 
him with gratitude; it is also probable that Luther visited 
his hospitable home. Goritz was supplicant referent, and 
as such he must have known Lucretia personally, because 
the influential daughter of the Pope was the constant 
recipient of petitions of various sorts. He had ample op- 
portunity to observe events in the Vatican, but of his 
experiences he recorded nothing; or, if he did, his diary 
was destroyed in the sack of Rome in 1527, when he lost 
all his belongings. 

Among Lucretia's personal acquaintances was still 
another man, one who was in a better position than any 
one else to write the history of the Borgias. This was the 
Nestor of Roman notaries, old Camillo Beneimbene, the 
trusted legal adviser of Alexander and of most of the car- 
dinals and grandees of Rome. He knew the Borgias in 

131 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

their private as well as in their public character; he had 
been acquainted with Lueretia from her childhood; he 
drew up all her marriage contracts. His office was on the 
Lombard Piazza, now known as S. Luigi dei Francesi. 
Here he worked, drawing up legal documents until the 
year 1505, as is shown by instruments in his handwrit- 
ing.* A man who had been the official witness and legal 
adviser in the most important family affairs of the Bor- 
gias for so long a time, and who, therefore, was familiar 
with all their secrets, must have occupied, so far as their 
house, and especially Lueretia, were concerned, the position 
of a close friend. Beneimbene records none of his per- 
sonal experiences, but his protocol-book is still preserved 
in the archives of the notary of the Capitol. 

Adriano Castelli of Corneto, a highly cultivated human- 
ist, and privy-secretary to Alexander, who subsequently 
made him a cardinal, was very close to the Borgias. As 
the Pope's secretary he must have frequently come in 
contact with Lueretia. Among her intimate acquaintances 
were also the famous Latinist, Cortesi; the youthful Sar- 
doleto, the familiar of Cardinal Cibo ; young Aldo Manuzio ; 
the intellectual brothers Rafael and Mario Maffei of Vol- 
terra; and Egidio of Viterbo, who subsequently became 
famous as a pulpit orator and was made a cardinal. The 
last maintained his connection with Lueretia while she was 
Duchess of Ferrara. He exercised a deep influence upon 
the religious turn which her nature took during this the 
second period of her life. 

The youthful Duchess of Biselli certainly enjoyed the 

* See the author's essay, Das Archiv der Notare des Capitols in Rom, 
and the protocol-book of the Notary Caraillus de Beneimbene, 1457 to 
1505. Proceedings of k. bayr. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Miin- 
chen, 1872. Part iv. 

132 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BORGIAS 

lively society of the cultured and gallant ecclesiastics about 
her — Cardinals Medici, Riario, Orsini, Cesarini, and Far- 
nese — not to mention the Borgias and the Spanish prelates. 
We may look for her, too, at the banquets in the palaces of 
Rome's great families, the Massimi and Orsini, the Santa 
Croce, Altieri, and Valle, and in the homes of the wealthy 
bankers Altoviti, Spanocchi, and Mariano Chigi, whose sons 
Lorenzo and Agostino — the latter eventually became 
famous — enjoyed the confidence of the Borgias. 

Lucretia was able in Rome to gratify a taste for the 
fine arts. Alexander found employment for the great 
artists of the day in the Vatican, where Perugino executed 
some paintings for him, and where, under the picture of the 
holy Virgin, Pinturicchio, who was his court artist, painted 
the portrait of the adulteress, Giulia Farnese. He also 
painted portraits of several members of the Borgia family in 
the castle of S. Angelo. 

" In the castle of S. Angelo," says Vasari, " he painted 
many of the rooms a grotesche; but in the tower below, in 
the garden, he depicted scenes from the life of Alexander 
VI. There he painted the Catholic Queen Isabella; Nic- 
colo Orsini, Count of Pitigliano; Giangiacomo Trivulzio; 
and many other kinsmen and friends of the Pope, and 
especially Caesar Borgia and his brother and sisters, as 
well as numerous great men of the age." Lorenz Behaim 
copied the epigrams which were placed under six of these 
paintings in the " castle of S. Angelo, below in the papal 
gardens." All represented scenes from the critical period 
of the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII, and they were 
painted in such a way as to make Alexander appear as 
having been victorious. One showed the king prostrating 
himself at the Pope's feet in this same garden of the 
castle of S. Angelo; another represented Charles declar- 

133 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ing his loyalty before the consistory; another, Philip of 
Sens and Guillaume of S. Malo receiving the cardinal's 
hat; another, the mass in S. Peter's at which Charles 
VIII assisted; the subject of another was the passage to 
S. Paul's, with the king holding the Pope's stirrup; and, 
lastly, a scene depicting the departure of Charles for 
Naples, accompanied by Cassar Borgia and the Sultan 
Djem.* 

These paintings are now lost, and with them the por- 
traits of the members of the Borgia family. Pinturicchio 
doubtless painted several likenesses of the beautiful Lu- 
cretia. Probably many of the figures in the paintings of 
this master resemble the Borgias, but of this we are not 
certain. In the collections of antiquaries, and among the 
innumerable old portraits which may be seen hanging in 
rows on the discolored walls in the palaces of Rome and in 
the castles in Romagna, there doubtless are likenesses of Lu- 
cretia, of Caosar, and of his brothers, which the beholder 
never suspects as such. It is well known that there was a 
faithful portrait of Alexander VI and his children above 
the altar of S. Lucia in the Church of S. Maria del Popolo, 
the work of Pinturicchio. Later, when Alexander re- 
stored this church, the painting was removed to the court 
of the cloister, and eventually it was lost.-f- 

Of the famous artists of the day, Lucretia must like- 
wise have known Antonio di Sangallo, her father's archi- 
tect, and also Antonio Pollajuolo, the most renowned 
sculptor of the Florentine school in Rome during the last 
decades of the fifteenth century. He died there in 1498. 

But the most famous of all the artists then in Rome 

* In the Codex Hartmann Schedel in the state library of Munich, 
f Piazza (Gerarchia Cardinalizia) states that he saw it as late as 
1712. 

134 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BORGIAS 

was Michael Angelo. He appeared there first in 1498, an 
ambitious young man of three and twenty. At that time 
the city of Rome was an enchanting environment for an 
artistic nature. The boundless immorality of her great 
past, speaking so eloquently from innumerable monuments 
of the pagan and Christian worlds; her majesty and holy 
calm; the sudden breaking loose of furious passions — all 
this is beyond the imaginative power of modern men, just 
as is the wickedly secular nature of the papacy and the 
spirit of the Renaissance which swept over these ruins. We 
are unable to comprehend in their entirety the soul-activi- 
ties of this great race, which was both creative and destruc- 
tive. For to the same feeling which impelled men to commit 
great crimes do we owe the great works of art of the Renais- 
sance. In those days evil, as well as good, was in the grand 
style. Alexander VI displayed himself to the world, for 
whose opinion he had supreme contempt, as shamelessly and 
fearlessly as did Nero. 

The Renaissance, owing to the violent contrasts which it 
presents, now naively and now in full consciousness of their 
incongruity, and also on account of the fiendish traits by 
which it is characterized, will always constitute one of the 
greatest psychologic problems in the history of civilization. 

All virtues, all crimes, all forces were set in motion by 
a feverish yearning for immaterial pleasures, beauty, power, 
and immortality. The Renaissance has been called an in- 
tellectual bacchanalia, and when we examine the features of 
the bacchantes they become distorted like those of the 
suitors in Homer, who anticipated their fall; for this so- 
ciety, this Church, these cities and states — in fine, this cul- 
ture in its entirety — toppled over into the abyss which was 
yawning for it. The reflection that men like Copernicus, 
Michael Angelo, and Bramante, Alexander VI and Caesar 

135 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Borgia could live in Rome at one and the same time is well 
nigh overpowering. 

Did Lucretia ever see the youthful artist, subsequently 
the friend of the noble lady, Vittoria Colonna, whose por- 
trait he painted ? We know not ; but there is no reason to 
doubt that she did. The curiosity of the artist and of the 
man would have induced Michael Angelo to endeavor to 
gain a glimpse of the most charming woman in Rome. Al- 
though only a beginner, he was already recognized as an 
artist of great talent. As he had just been taken up by 
Gallo the Roman and Cardinal La Grolaye, it is altogether 
probable that he would have been the subject also of Lucre- 
tia 's curiosity. 

Affected by the recent tragedies in the house of Borgia — 
for example, the murder of the Duke of Gandia — Michael 
Angelo was engaged upon the great work which was the 
first to attract the attention of the city, the Pieta, which 
Cardinal La Grolaye had commissioned him to paint. 
This work he completed in 1499, about the time the great 
Bramante came to Rome. The group should be studied 
with the epoch of the Borgias for background; the Pieta 
rises supreme in ethical significance, and in the moral 
darkness about her she seems a pure sacrificial fire lighted 
by a great and earnest spirit in the dishonored realm of 
the Church. Lucretia stood before the Pieta, and the 
masterpiece must have affected this unhappy daughter 
of a sinful pope more powerfully than the words of her 
confessor or than the admonitions of the abbesses of S. Sisto. 



136 



CHAPTER XV 

MISFORTUNES OF CATARINA SFORZA 

The jubilee year 1500 was a fortunate one for Csesar, 
but an unhappy one for Lucretia. She began it January 
1st with a formal passage to the Lateran, whither she 
went to make the prescribed pilgrimage to the Roman 
churches. She rode upon a richly caparisoned jennet, her 
escort consisting of two hundred mounted nobles, men and 
women. On her left was her consort, Don Alfonso; on 
her right one of the ladies of her court; and behind them 
came the captain of the papal guard, Rodrigo Borgia. 
While she and her retinue were crossing over the Bridge 
of S. Angelo, her father stood in a loggia of the castle, 
feasting his eyes upon his beloved daughter. 

The new year brought Alexander only good news — if we 
except that of the death of the Cardinal-legate Giovanni 
Borgia, Bishop of Melfi and Archbishop of Capua, who was 
known as the ' ' younger, ' ' to distinguish him from another 
cardinal of the same name. He died in Urbino, January 8, 
1500, of a fever, according to a statement made by Elisa- 
betta, consort of Guidobaldo, to her brother Gonzaga, in a 
letter written from Fossombrone on the same day.* 

Csesar was in Forli when he received the news of the 
cardinal's death, the very morning — January 12th — on 
which the stronghold surrendered to him. He at once con- 
veyed the information to the Duke of Ferrara in a letter, 
in which he said that Giovanni Borgia had been called 
* In the Gonzaga archives. 
137 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

to Rome by the Pope, and having set out from Forli, had 
died suddenly in Urbino of a flux. The fact that he had 
been in Caesar's camp, and that, according to Elisabetta's 
letter, he had been taken sick in Urbino, lent some probabil- 
ity to the suspicion that he had been poisoned. 

It is worthy of note that Caesar, in his letter to the duke, 
speaks of the deceased as his brother ; * and Ercole, in 
offering him his condolences, January 18th, on the death 
of the cardinal, also called him Caesar's brother. Are we 
thereby warranted in concluding that the younger Gio- 
vanni Borgia was a son of Alexander VI? Further, the 
Ferrarese chronicler Zambotto, speaking of the cardinal's 
death, uses the expression, ' ' son of Pope Alexander. ' ' f 
If this was the case, the number of Alexander's children 
must be increased, for Ludovico Borgia was also his son. 
This Borgia, who succeeded to Giovanni's benefices, was 
Archbishop of Valencia and subsequently cardinal. He 
reported his promotion to the Marchioness Gonzaga in a 
letter in which he everywhere speaks of the deceased as 
" his brother," just as Caesar had done.J 

These statements, however, do not refute the hitherto 
generally accepted opinion regarding the descent of Gio- 
vanni Borgia, ' ' the younger, ' ' and Zambotta certainly was 
in error — the word fratre, which he uses in his letter means 
merely " dear cousin," fratello cugino.% 

* In questa mattina ho hauto lo adviso de la morte del R m0 Card. 
Borgia mio fratre passato de questa vita in Urbino. Forli, January 16, 
1500. Archives of Modena. 

•f A. 1500, Jan. 22 (this is incorrect), mori il Carle Borgia nolo de 
Papa Alex a Orbino. Silva Cronicarum Bernardini Zambotti. Ms. in 
the library of Ferrara. 

% La bona memoria del Cardinale Borgia mio fratre. Rome, July 
30, 1500. Gonzaga archives. 

§ Cittadella's opinion that Giovanni Borgia, junior, was a son of 
Pierluigi, Alexander's brother, is also incorrect. 

138 



CATARINA SFORZA 

January 14th news reached the Vatican that Caesar had 
taken the castle of Forli. After a brave resistance Cata- 
rina Sforza Riario, together with her two brothers, was 
compelled to surrender. The grandchild of the great Fran- 
cesco Sforza of Milan, the natural daughter of Galeazzo 
Maria and the illegitimate sister of Blanca, wife of Em- 
peror Maximilian, was the ideal of the heroic women of 
Italy, who were found not only in Bojardo's and Ariosto's 
poems, but also in real life. Her nature exceeded the 
feminine and verged on caricature. To understand the 
evolution of such personalities, in whom beauty and cul- 
ture, courage and reason, sensuality and cruelty combined 
to produce a strange organism, we must be familiar with 
the conditions from which they sprang. Catarina Sforza 's 
experiences made her the amazon that she was. 

At an early age she was married to the rude nephew of 
Sixtus IV, Girolamo Riario, Count of Forli. Shortly after- 
wards her terrible father met a tyrant's death in Milan. 
Then her husband fell beneath the daggers of the conspira- 
tors, who flung his naked body from a window of the strong- 
hold of Forli. Catarina, however, with determined cour- 
age, succeeded in keeping the castle for her children, and 
she avenged her husband's death with ferocious cruelty. 
Subsequently she was known — to quote Marino Sanuto's 
words — as " a courageous woman and cruel virago." * Six 
years later she saw her brother Giangaleazzo die of poison 
administered by Ludovico il Moro, while before her very 
eyes her second, but not openly recognized, husband, Gia- 
como Feo of Savona, was slain in Forli by conspirators. 
She immediately mounted her charger, and at the head of 
her guard pursued the murderers to their quarter, where 

* Femina quasi virago crudelissima et di gran anirao. Venuta di 
Carlo VIII, p. 811, Ms. Virago here means amazon. 

139 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

she had every living being — men, women, and children — • 
hacked to pieces. She buried a third lover, Giovanni 
Medici, in 1497. 

With cunning and force this amazon ruled her little 
domain until she herself finally fell into Caesar's hands. 
Few lamented her fate. When the news reached Milan that 
she was in the duke's power, and consequently also in that 
of Pope Alexander, the celebrated General Giangiacomo Tri- 
vulzio made a jesting remark which clearly shows how 
little her fate grieved the people. According to the stories 
of the day, Caesar led her to Rome in golden chains, like 
another Queen of Palmyra. He entered the city in tri- 
umph, February 26th, and the Pope assigned the Belvedere 
to the captive for her abode. 

The city was filled at that time with the faithful, who 
had come to receive absolution for their sins, this the 
jubilee year, — and from a Borgia. Among the number was 
Elisabetta Gonzaga, consort of Guidobaldo of Urbino. The 
pilgrimage of this famous woman was a dangerous experi- 
ment, the Pope having secretly placed Urbino on the list 
of proscribed cities included in the Church fiefs. Caesar 
already looked upon it as his property. The thought of 
meeting this Borgia in Rome must have been exceedingly 
painful to her. How easily might he have found a pretext 
for keeping her prisoner! Her brother, Francesco Gon- 
zaga, warned her against her decision, but on her way to 
Rome she wrote him a letter so remarkable and so amiable 
that we quote it at length: 

Illustrious Prince and Lord, Honored Brother: I 
have left Urbino and set out for Rome for the purpose of 
receiving absolution, this the jubilee year. Several days 
ago I informed your Excellency of my prospective journey. 
Only to-day, in Assisi, did I receive your letter; I under- 

140 



CATAEINA SFORZA 

stand from what you write that you wish me to abandon 
this journey — perhaps thinking that I have not yet set 
out — which grieves me greatly, and causes me unspeakable 
pain, because I wish in this as in all other things to do your 
Majesty's will, having always looked upon you as my 
most honored father, and never having had any thought 
or purpose but to follow your wishes. However, as I have 
said, I am now on the way and am out of the country. 
With the help of Fabritius (Colonna) and Madonna Ag- 
nesina, my honored sister-in-law and sister, I have made 
arrangements for a residence in Rome, and for whatever 
may be necessary for my comfort. I have also informed 
them that I would be in Marino four days hence, and con- 
sequently Fabritius has gone to the trouble of securing an 
escort for me; further, my departure and journey have 
been noised about ; therefore, I see no way to abandon this 
pilgrimage without affecting my honor and that of my 
husband — since the thing has gone so far — the more so as 
the journey was undertaken with the full knowledge and 
consent of my lord, and all and everything carefully con- 
sidered. Your Majesty must not be distressed or annoyed 
by this, my journey, and in order that you may know 
everything, I will tell you that I am first going to Marino, 
and thence, accompanied by Madonna Agnesina, and in- 
cognito, shall go to Rome for the purpose of receiving 
absolution at this the holy jubilee of the Church. I need 
not see any one there, for during my stay in Rome I shall 
live in the palace of the deceased Cardinal Savelli. The 
house is a good one, and is exactly what I want, and it is 
within reach of the Colonna. It is my intention to return 
soon to Marino, there to spend the greater part of the 
time. Your Majesty, therefore, need have no further 
anxiety about my journey, and must not be displeased by 
it. Although these reasons are sufficient to induce me not 
only to continue the journey, but to begin it, if I had not 
already set out I would relinquish it, not on account of 
any fear of anything unpleasant that might attend my 
pilgrimage, but simply to comply with the wish expressed 
in your Majesty's letter, as I desire to do always. But 
as I am now here, and as your Excellency will soon receive 
this letter, I am sure you will approve of my course. I 
earnestly beg you to do so, and to assure me by letter, ad- 
dressed to Rome, that you are not displeased, so that I may 

141 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

receive absolution in greater peace and tranquillity. If you 
do not I shall suffer great anxiety and grief. I commend 
myself to your Excellency's merciful benevolence as your 
Majesty's youngest sister, 

Elisabetta. 
Assist, March 21, 1500. 



Agnesina di Montefeltre mentioned in the letter, Guido- 
baldo's soulful sister, was married to Fabritius Colonna, 
who subsequently became one of Italy's greatest captains. 
She was then twenty-eight years of age. She and her hus- 
band lived at the castle of Marino in the Alban mountains, 
where, in 1490, she bore him Vittoria Colonna, the future 
ornament of her house. Elisabetta found this beautiful 
child already betrothed to Ferrante d'Avalos, son of Mar- 
quis Alfonso of Pescara; Ferdinand II of Naples having 
brought about the betrothal of the two children as early 
as 1495 for the purpose of winning over the Colonna, the 
retainers of the house of Aragon. 

The Duchess of Urbino actually went to Rome for the 
purpose of protecting her noble kinswoman, whom she 
kept incognito. She remained there until Easter. On her 
way to S. Peter's she directed anxious glances toward the 
Belvedere, where the bravest woman of Italy, a prisoner, 
was grieving her life away, Catarina Sforza having been 
confined there since Caesar's return, February 26th, as is 
attested by a letter of that date written by the Venetian 
ambassador in Rome to his Signory. Elisabetta 's feelings 
must have been rendered still more painful by the fact 
that her own husband, as well as her brother Gonzaga, 
both of whom were in the service of France, had given 
the princess up for lost. 

She had scarcely left Rome when Catarina received 
news that her uncles Ludovico and Ascanio had fallen 

142 



CATARINA SFORZA 

into the hands of the King of France. Having, with the 
aid of Swiss troops, again secured possession of Milan in 
1500, they were ignominiously betrayed by the mercena- 
ries at Novara, April 10th. Ludovico was carried away 
to France, where he died in misery, having spent ten years 
a prisoner in the tower of Loches; the once powerful car- 
dinal was likewise taken a captive to France. A great 
tragedy had occurred in the house of Sforza. What must 
have been Catarina's distress when she, in her prison, 
learned that fate had overthrown all her race ! Could one 
transport himself to that environment he would breathe 
the oppressive atmosphere with which Shakespeare en- 
veloped his characters. 

Catarina's jailers were the two most dreaded men of 
the age — the Pope and his son. The very thought of what 
surrounded her must have filled her with terror. In the 
Belvedere she was in constant dread of Caesar's poison, 
and it is indeed a wonder that she did escape it. She 
made an unsuccessful attempt at flight, whereupon Alex- 
ander had her removed to the castle of S. Angelo. How- 
ever, certain French gentlemen in the service of the one 
who was bent on her destruction — especially Ivo d'Allegre 
— interceded for her ; and the Pope, after she had spent a 
year and a half in captivity, allowed her to choose Florence 
for her asylum. He himself commended her to the Signory 
in the following letter: 

Unto my Beloved Sons: Greeting and the Apostolic 
Blessing. Our beloved daughter in Christ, the noble lady 
Catarina Sforza, is on her way to you. She, as you are 
aware, having for good reasons been held a prisoner by Us 
for a time, has again become the object of Our mercy. We, 
according to Our custom and to Our pastoral duties, have 
not only exercised mercy with regard to this Catarina, but 
also, so far as We with God's help were able, have looked 

143 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

with paternal solicitude after her welfare; therefore We 
deem it proper to write you for the purpose of commending 
this Catarina to your protection, so that she, having full 
confidence in Our good will towards you, and returning, so 
to speak, into her own country, may not be deluded in her 
expectations and by Our recommendation. We, therefore, 
shall be glad to learn that she has been well received and 
treated by you, in gratitude to her for having chosen your 
city for her abode, and owing to your feeings toward Us. 
Given at Rome, in S. Peter's, under the Apostolic seal, 
July 13, 1501. In the ninth year of our pontificate. 

Hadrianus. 

Catarina Sforza died in a convent in Florence in 1509. 
In her fatherland she left a son of the same mettle as her- 
self, Giovanni Medici, the last of the great condottieri of 
the country, who became famous as leader of the Black 
Bands. There is a seated figure in marble of this captain, 
of herculean strength, with the neck of a centaur, near the 
church of S. Lorenzo in Florence. 



144 



CHAPTER XVI 

MURDER OF ALFONSO OF ARAGON 

After the fall of the Riario, of Imola, and Forli, all the 
tyrants in the domain of the Church trembled before 
Caesar; and greater princes, like those of the Gonzaga and 
Este families, who were either entirely independent or 
were semi-independent vassals of the Church, courted the 
friendship of the Pope and his dreaded son. Caesar, as 
an ally of France, had secured for himself the services of 
these princes, and since 1499 they had helped him in his 
schemes in the Romagna. He engaged in a lively corre- 
spondence with Ercole d'Este, whom he treated as his 
equal, as his brother and friend, although he was a 
young and immature man. To him he reported his suc- 
cesses, and in return received congratulations, equally con- 
fidential in tone, all of which consisted of diplomatic lies 
inspired by fear. The correspondence between Caesar and 
Ercole, which is very voluminous, is still preserved in the 
Este archives in Modena. It began August 30, 1498, when 
Caesar was still a cardinal. In this letter, which is written 
in Latin, he announces to the duke that he is about to set 
our for France, and asks him for a saddle horse. 

Caesar engaged in an equally confidential correspond- 
ence with Francesco Gonzaga, with whom he entered into 
intimate relations which endured until his death. In the 
archives of the Gonzaga family in Mantua there are pre- 
served forty-one letters written by Caesar to the marquis 

10 145 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

and his consort Isabella. The first is dated October 31, 
1498, from Avignon; the second, January 12, 1500, from 
Forli; the third is as follows: 

Illustrious Sir and Honored Brother: From your 
Excellency's letter we have learned of the birth of your 
illustrious son, which has occasioned us no less joy than we 
would have felt on the birth of an heir to ourselves. As 
we, owing to our sincere and brotherly goodwill for you, wish 
you all increase and fortune, we willingly consent to be 
godfather, and will appoint for our proxy anyone whom 
your Excellency may choose. May he in our stead watch 
over the child from the moment of his baptism. We ear- 
nestly pray to God to preserve the same to you. 

Your Majesty will not fail to congratulate your illus- 
trious consort in our name. She will, we hope, through 
this son prepare the way for a numerous posterity to per- 
petuate the fame of their illustrious parents. Rome, in the 
Apostolic Palace, May 24, 1500. 

Caesar Borgia of France, Duke of Valen- 

tinois, Gonfallonier, and Captain- General 

of the Holy Roman Church. 

This son of the Marquis of Mantua was the hereditary 
Prince Federico, born May 17, 1500. Two years later, 
when Caesar was at the zenith of his power, Gonzaga re- 
quested the honor of the betrothal of this son and the 
duke's little daughter Luisa. 

Caesar remained in Rome several months to secure funds 
for carrying out his plans in Romagna. All his projects 
would have been wrecked in a moment if his father had 
not escaped, almost unharmed, when the walls of a room 
in the Vatican collapsed, June 27, 1500. He was extri- 
cated from the rubbish only slightly hurt. He would 
allow no one but his daughter to care for him. When the 
Venetian ambassador called, July 3d, he found Madonra 
Lucretia, Sancia, the latter 's husband, Giuffre, and one of 

146 



MURDER OF ALFONSO OF ARAGON 

Lucretia's ladies-in-waiting, who was the Pope's " favor- 
ite," with him. Alexander was then seventy years of age. 
He ascribed his escape to the Virgin Mary, just as Pius IX 
did his own when the house near S. Agnese tumbled down. 
July 5th Alexander held a service in her honor, and on his 
recovery he had himself borne in a procession to S. Maria 
del Popolo, where he offered the Virgin a goblet containing 
three hundred ducats. Cardinal Piccolomini ostenta- 
tiously scattered the gold pieces over the altar before all 
the people. 

The saints had saved a great sinner from the falling 
walls in the Vatican, but they refrained from interfering 
eighteen days later to prevent a hideous crime — the at- 
tempted murder of a guiltless person. In vain had the 
youthful Alfonso of Biselli been warned by his own pre- 
monitions and by his friends during the past year to seek 
safety in flight. He had followed his wife to Rome like a 
lamb to the slaughter, only to fall under the daggers of the 
assassins from whom she was powerless to save him. 
Cassar hated him, as he did the entire house of Aragon, and 
in his opinion his sister's marriage to a Neapolitan prince 
had become as useless as had been her union with Sforza of 
Pesaro; moreover, it interfered with the plans of Cassar, 
who had a matrimonial alliance in mind for his sister 
which would be more advantageous to himself. As her 
marriage with the Duke of Biselli had not been childless, 
and, consequently, could not be set aside, he determined 
upon a radical separation of the couple. 

July 15, 1500, about eleven o'clock at night, Alfonso was 
on his way from his palace to the Vatican to see his con- 
sort; near the steps leading to S. Peter's a number of 
masked men fell upon him with daggers. Severely 
wounded in the head, arm, and thigh, the prince succeeded 

147 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

in reaching the Pope 's chamber. At the sight of her spouse 
covered with blood, Lucretia sank to the floor in a swoon. 

Alfonso was carried to another room in the Vatican, 
and a cardinal administered the extreme unction; his 
youth, however, triumphed, and he recovered. Although 
Lucretia, owing to her fright, fell sick of a fever, she and 
his sister Sancia took care of him; they cooked his food, 
while the Pope himself placed a guard over him. In Rome 
there was endless gossip about the crime and its perpetra- 
tors. July 19th the Venetian ambassador wrote to his 
Signory: "It is not known who wounded the duke, but 
it is said that it was the same person who killed the Duke 
of Gandia and threw him into the Tiber. Monsignor of 
Valentinois has issued an edict that no one shall be found 
with arms between the castle of S. Angelo and S. Peter's, 
on pain of death." 

Caesar remarked to the ambassador, " I did not wound 
the duke, but if I had, it would have been nothing more 
than he deserved. ' ' His hatred of his brother-in-law must 
have been inspired also by personal reasons of which we 
are ignorant. He even ventured to call upon the wounded 
man, remarking on leaving, ' ' "What is not accomplished at 
noon may be done at night." 

The days passed slowly; finally the murderer lost 
patience. At nine o'clock in the evening of August 18th, 
he came again; Lucretia and Sancia drove him from the 
room, whereupon he called his captain, Micheletto, who 
strangled the duke. There was no noise, not a sound ; it was 
like a pantomime; amid a terrible silence the dead prince 
was borne away to S. Peter's. 

The affair was no longer a secret. Caesar openly stated 
that he had destroyed the duke because the latter was seek- 
ing his life, and he claimed that by Alfonso's orders some 

148 







CKSAi; BORGIA. 
From a painting by Giorgione. 



MURDER OF ALFONSO OF ARAGON 

archers had shot at him when he was strolling in the Vati- 
can gardens. 

Nothing so clearly discloses the terrible influence which 
Cassar exercised over his wicked father as this deed, and 
the way in which the Pope regarded it. From the Veni- 
tian ambassador's report it appears that it was contrary 
to Alexander's wishes, and that he had even attempted to 
save the unfortunate prince's life. After the crime had 
been committed, however, the Pope dismissed it from his 
mind, both because he did not dare to bring Caesar — 
whom he had forgiven for the murder of his brother — 
to a reckoning, and because the murder would result in 
offering him opportunities which he desired. He spared 
himself the trouble of directing useless reproaches to his 
son, for Cagsar would only have laughed at them. Was the 
care with which Alexander had his unfortunate son-in-law 
watched merely a bit of deceit? There are no grounds for 
believing that the Pope either planned the murder himself 
or that he consented to it. 

Never was bloody deed so soon forgotten. The murder 
of a prince of the royal house of Naples made no more im- 
pression than the death of a "Vatican stable boy would 
have done. No one avoided Caesar; none of the priests 
refused him admission to the Church, and all the cardinals 
continued to show him the deepest reverence and respect. 
Prelates vied with each other to receive the red hat from 
the hand of the all-powerful murderer, who offered the 
dignity to the highest bidders. He needed money for carry- 
ing out his schemes of confiscation in the Romagna. His 
condottieri, Paolo Orsini, Giuliano Orsini, Vitellozzo Vitelli, 
and Ercole Bentivoglio were with him during these autumn 
days. His father had equipped seven hundred heavy men 
at arms for him, and, August 18th, the Venetian ambas- 

149 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

sador reported to the signory that he had been requested 
by the Pope to ask the Doge to withdraw their protection 
from Rimini and Faenza. Negotiations were in progress 
with France to secure her active support for Caesar. 
August 24th the French ambassador, Louis de Villeneuve, 
made his entry into Rome; near S. Spirito a masked man 
rode up and embraced him. The man was Caesar. How- 
ever openly he committed his crimes, he frequently went 
about Rome in disguise. 

The murder of the youthful Alfonso of Aragon was by 
far the most tragic deed committed by the Borgias, and his 
fate was more terrible than even that of Astorre Man- 
fredi. If Lucretia really loved her husband, as there is 
every reason to suppose she did, his end must have caused 
her the greatest anguish ; and, even if she had no affection 
for him, all her feelings must have been aroused against 
the murderer to whose fiendish ambition the tragedy was 
due. She must also have rebelled against her father, who 
regarded the crime with such indifference. 

None of the reports of the day describe the circum- 
stances in which she found herself immediately after the 
murder, nor events in the Vatican just preceding it. Al- 
though Lucretia was suffering from a fever, she did not 
die of grief, nor did she rise to avenge her husband's mur- 
der, or to flee from the terrible Vatican. 

She was in a position similar to that of her sister-in- 
law, Dona Maria Enriquez, after Gandia's death; but 
while the latter and her sons had found safety in Spain, 
Lucretia had no retreat to which she could retire without 
the consent of her father and brother. 

It would be wrong to blame the unfortunate woman be- 
cause at this fateful moment of her life she did not make 
herself the subject of a tragedy. Of a truth, she appears 

150 



MURDER OF ALFONSO OF ARAGON 

very weak and characterless. We must not look for great 
qualities of soul in Lucretia, for she possessed them not. 
We are endeavoring to represent her only as she actually 
was, and, if we judge rightly, she was merely a woman 
differentiated from the great mass of women, not by the 
strength, but by the graciousness, of her nature. This 
young woman, regarded by posterity as a Medea or as a 
loathsomely passionate creature, probably never experi- 
enced any real feeling. During the years she lived in 
Rome she was always subject to the will of others, for 
her destiny was controlled, first, by her father, and subse- 
quently by her brother. We know not how much of an 
effort, in view of the circumstances by which she was tram- 
meled, she could make to maintain the dignity of woman. 
If Lucretia, however, ever did possess the courage to assert 
her individuality and rights before those who injured her, 
she certainly would have done so when her husband was 
murdered. Perhaps she did assail her sinister brother 
with recriminations and her father with tears. She was 
troublesome to Cassar, who wished her away from the Vati- 
can, consequently Alexander banished her for a time ; and 
apparently she herself was not unwilling to go. The Vene- 
tian ambassador Paolo Capello refers to some quarrel be- 
tween Lucretia and her father. He departed from Rome, 
September 16, 1500, and on his return to Venice made a 
report to his government on the condition of affairs, in 
which he says : ' ' Madonna Lucretia, who is gracious and 
generous, formerly was in high favor with the Pope, but she 
is so no longer." 

August 30th, Lucretia, accompanied by a retinue of six 
hundred riders, set out from Rome for Nepi, of which city 
she was mistress. There, according to Burchard, she hoped 
to recover from the perturbation which the death of the 
Duke of Biselli had caused her. 

151 



CHAPTER XVII 



LUCRETIA AT NEPI 



Travelers from Rome to Nepi, then as now, followed 
the Via Cassia, passing Isola Farnese, Baccano, and Monte- 
rosi. The road consisted in part of the ancient highway, 
but it was in the worst possible condition. Near Monte- 
rosi the traveler turned into the Via Amerina, much of the 
pavement of which is still preserved, even up to the walls 
of Nepi. 

Like most of the cities of Etruria, Nepi (Nepe or Ne- 
pete) was situated on a high plain bordered by deep 
ravines, through which flowed small streams, called Hi. 
The bare cliffs of tuff constituted a natural means of de- 
fense, and where they were low, walls were built. 

The southern side of the city of Nepi, where the Falisco 
River flows and empties into a deep chasm, was in ancient 
times fortified with high walls built of long, square blocks 
of tuff laid upon each other without mortar, like the walls 
of neighboring Falerii. Some remains of Nepi's walls 
may still be seen near the Porta Romana, although much 
of the material has been used in constructing the castle 
and for the high arches of the Farnese aqueduct. 

The castle defended the weakest side of Nepi, where, in 
the old days, stood the city fortress. In the eighth century 
it was the seat of a powerful duke, Toto, who made a name 
for himself also in the history of Rome. Cardinal Rodrigo 
Borgia gave it the form it now has, rebuilding the castle 
and enlarging the two great towers inside the walls, the 

152 



LUCRETIA AT NEPI 

larger of which is round and the smaller square. Later 
the castle was restored and furnished with bastions by 
Paul III and his son, Pierluigi Farnese, the first Duke of 
Castro and Nepi.* 

In 1500 this castle was as strong as that of Civitacastel- 
lana, which Alexander VI rebuilt. Unfortunately, it is 
now in ruins. The remains of the castle-palace and all the 
outer walls are covered with thick ivy. Time has spared 
nothing but the two great towers. 

On the side toward the city the ruined stronghold is 
entered through a gateway above which is inscribed in the 
fair characters of the Renaissance, TSV VNICVS CVSTOS. 
PROCVL HINC TIMORES. YSV. This leads into a rect- 
angular court surrounded by walls now in ruins. The 
beholder is confronted by the facade of the castle, a 
two-storied structure in the style of the Renaissance, 
with windows whose casements are made of peperino (ce- 
ment). The inscription P. LOISIVS FAR DVX PRIMVS 
CASTRI on the door frame shows that this was also the 
work of the Farnese. 

The interior is a mass of ruins, all the walls having 
fallen in. This notable monument of the past has been 
suffered to go to decay; it was only eighty years ago that 
the walls of the last remaining salon fell in. The only room 
left is an upper chamber, reached by climbing a ladder. 
The place where the hearth was is still discernible, as is also 
the paneled ceiling found in so many of the buildings of 
the early Renaissance. The ends of the rafters are sup- 

* Over the Porta Romana and on the bastions may still be seen the 
colossal arms of Paul III and those of his son carved in stone. The in- 
scription reads : 

P. ALOTSIVS FARNESIVS DVX I. CASTRI ET NEPETE 
MVNIMENTVM HOC AD TVTELAM CIV1TATIS EXSTRVXIT. 
MDXL. 

153 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ported by beautifully carved consoles. All the wood- 
work is stained dark brown, and here and there on the 
ceiling are wooden shields, on which are painted the 
Borgia arms in colors. 

In various places in the interior, and also with- 
out, on the towers of the stronghold, the same arms may 
be seen carved in stone. There are also two stones, with 
the arms very carefully chiseled, set in the walls of the 
entrance hall of the town house of Nepi, which were origi- 
nally in the castle where they had been placed by 
Lucretia's orders. The Borgia arms and those of the 
house of Aragon, which Lucretia, as Duchess of Biselli, had 
adopted, are united under a ducal crown. 

Lonely Nepi, which now has only 2,500 inhabitants, had 
but few more in the year 1500. It was a little town in 
Campagna, whose streets were bordered by Gothic build- 
ings, with a few old palaces and towers belonging to the 
nobles, among the most important of whom were the Celsi. 
There is a small public square, formerly the forum, on 
which the town hall faces, and also an old church, 
originally built upon the ruins of the temple of Jupiter. 
There were a few other ancient churches and cloisters, 
such as S. Vito and S. Eleuterio, and other remains of 
antiquity, which have now disappeared. There are only 
two ancient statues left — the figures of two of Nepi's citi- 
zens whose names are now unknown — they are on the 
facade of the palace, a beautiful building dating from the 
late Renaissance. Owing to the topography of the region 
and the general decadence peculiar to all Etruria, the 
country about Nepi is forbidding and melancholy. The 
dark and rugged chasms, with their huge blocks of stone 
and steep walls of black and dark red tuff, with rushing 
torrents in their depths, cause an impression of grandeur, 

154 



LUCRETIA AT NEPI 

but also of sadness, with which the broad and peaceful 
highlands and the idyllic pastures, where one constantly 
hears the melancholy bleating of the sheep, and the sad 
notes of the shepherds' flutes are in perfect accord. 

Here and there dark oak forests may still be seen, but 
four hundred years ago, in the neighborhood of Nepi, they 
were more numerous and denser than they are to-day; in 
the direction of Sutri and Civitacastellana they are well 
cleared up ; but there are still many fine groves. From 
the top of the castle may be seen a magnificent panorama, 
which is even more extensive than that which greets the 
eye from the castle of Spoleto. There on the horizon are 
the dark volcano of Bracciano and Monte di Rocca Ro- 
mana, and here the mountains of Viterbo, on whose wide 
slopes the town of Caprarola, which belonged to the 
Farnese, is visible. On the other side rises Soracte. To- 
wards the north the plateau slopes gently down to the 
valley of the Tiber, across which, in the misty distance, the 
blue chain of the Sabine mountains stands out boldly, with 
numerous fortresses scattered about the declivities. 

August 31st Alfonso's young widow went to the castle 
of Nepi, taking with her part of her court and her child 
Rodrigo. These knights and ladies, all generally so merry, 
were now either oppressed by a real sorrow or were re- 
quired by court etiquette to renounce all pleasures. In this 
lonely stronghold Lucretia could lament, undisturbed, 
the taking-off of the handsome youth who had been 
her husband for two years, and together with whom she 
had dwelt in this same castle scarcely a twelve-month be- 
fore. There was nothing to disturb her melancholy brood- 
ing; but, instead, castle, city, and landscape all harmon- 
ized with it. 

Some of Lucretia 's letters written during her stay at 

155 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

the castle of Nepi are still in existence, and they are espe- 
cially valuable, being the only ones we have which date 
from what is known as the Roman period of the life of 
the famous woman. Lucretia addressed them to her 
trusted servant in Rome, Vincenzo Giordano; some are in 
her own handwriting, and others in that of her secretary, 
Cristof oro. She signs herself ' ' the most unhappy Princess 
of Salerno," although she herself afterwards struck out 
the words, principessa de Salerno, and left only the words, 
La infelicissima. In only a single letter — and this one 
has no date — did she allow the whole signature to stand. 

The first letters, dated September 15th and October 
24, 1500, " in our city of Nepi," are devoted to domestic 
affairs, especially clothes, of which she was in need. Two 
days later she states that she had written to the Cardinal 
of Lisbon, her godfather, in the interest of the bearer 
of the letter, Giovanni of Prato. October 28th she directs 
Yincenzo to have certain clothes made for the little 
Rodrigo and to send them to her immediately by a courier. 
She also orders him to have prayers said for her in all the 
convents "on account of this, my new sorrow." October 
30th she wrote as follows: 

Vincenzo: As we have decided that the memorial 
service for the soul of his Lordship, the duke, my husband 
— may the glory of the saints be his — shall be held, you 
will, with this end in view, go to his Eminence the Lord 
Cardinal of Colenzo, whom we have charged with this 
office, and will do whatever his Eminence commands you, 
both in regard to paying for the mass and also for perform- 
ing whatever his Majesty directs; and you will keep ac- 
count of what you spend of the five hundred which you 
have, for I will see that you are reimbursed, so it will be 
necessary. From the castle of Nepi, next to the last day 
of October, 1500. 

The Unhappy 
156 



LUCRETIA AT NEPI 

There is an undated letter written by Lucretia which, 
apparently, belongs to the same period, because it is writ- 
ten in a melancholy tone, and in it she asks Heaven to 
watch over her bed. The last dated letters, which are of 
October 31st and November 2d, are devoted to unimportant 
domestic affairs; they show that Lucretia was in Nepi as 
late as November. Another undated letter to the same 
Vincenzo Giordano refers to her return to Rome; it pur- 
posely contains obscurities which it is now impossible to 
decipher and fictitious names which had been agreed upon 
with her servant. Even the signature is a conventional 
sign. The epistle is word for word as follows: " I 
am so filled with misgivings and anxiety on account of my 
returning to Rome that I can scarcely write — I can only 
weep. And all this time when I found that Farina neither 
answered nor wrote to me I was able neither to eat nor 
sleep, and wept continually. God forgive Farina, who 
could have made everything turn out better and did not 
do so. I will see whether I can send him Roble before I 
set out — for I wish to send him. No more for the present. 
Again look well to that matter, and on no account let Rexa 
see this letter." 

Lucretia, it appears, wished to leave Nepi and return 
to Rome, for which her father at first might refuse his per- 
mission. Perhaps Rexa in this letter means Alexander, 
and the name Farina may signify Cardinal Farnese, upon 
whose intermediation she counted. "Vincenzo finally wrote 
her that he had spoken to the Pope himself, and Lucretia, 
in an undated letter, showed her servant how pleased she 
was because everything had turned out better than she had 
expected. This is the only letter in which the signature, 
" The unhappy Princess of Salerno " is not stricken out. 

We do not know how long Lucretia remained in Nepi, 

157 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

where, in summer, the moisture rising from the rocky 
chasms caused deadly fevers, and still renders that place 
and Civitacastellana unhealthful. Her father recalled her 
to Rome before Christmas, and received her again into 
his favor as soon as her brother left the city. Only a 
few months had passed when Lucretia's soul was again 
filled with visions of a brilliant future, before which the 
vague form of the unfortunate Alfonso sank into oblivion. 
Her tears dried so quickly that, on the expiration of a year, 
no one would have recognized in this young and frivolous 
woman the widow of a trusted consort who had been foully 
murdered. From her father Lucretia had inherited, if not 
inexhaustible vitality, at least the lightness of mind which 
her contemporaries, under the name of joy of living, dis- 
covered in her and in the Pope. 



158 



CHAPTER XVIII 



C^SAR AT PESARO 



Towards the end of September, Caesar entered Romagna 
with seven hundred heavy men at arms, two hundred light 
horsemen, and six thousand foot soldiers. First he ad- 
vanced against Pesaro for the purpose of driving out his 
former brother-in-law. Sforza, on hearing of the terrible 
fate of his successor as husband of Lucretia, had good 
reason to congratulate himself on his escape. He was liter- 
ally consuming with hate of all the Borgias, but, instead 
of being able to avenge himself for the injury they had 
done him, he found himself threatened with another, a 
greater and almost unavoidable one. He had been in- 
formed by his representative in Rome and by the ambas- 
sador of Spain, who was friendly to him, of the prepara- 
tions his enemy was making, a fact proved by his letter to 
Francesco Gonzaga, the brother of his first wife, Madda- 
lena.* 

September 1, 1500, he informed the Marquis of Caesar's 
intention to attack Pesaro, and asked him to endeavor to 
interest the Emperor Maximilian in his behalf. On the 
twenty-sixth he wrote an urgent appeal for help. This the 
marquis did not refuse, but he sent him only a hundred 
men under the command of an Albanian. Thus do we see 
how these illegitimate dynasties of Italy were in danger of 
being overthrown by every breath. Faenza was the only 

* His correspondence with Gonzaga is preserved in the archives of 
Mantua. 

159 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

place where the people loved their lord, the young and fair 
Astorre Manfredi, and remained true to him. In all the 
other cities of Romagna, however, the regime of the tyrants 
was detested. Sforza himself could be cruel and exacting, 
and not in vain had be been a pupil of the Borgias in Rome. 
Never was throne so quickly overturned as his, or, 
rather, so promptly abandoned before it was attacked. 
Cffisar was some distance from Pesaro when there was a 
movement in his favor among the people; a party hostile 
to the Sforza was formed, while the whole populace, ex- 
cited by the thought of what might follow the storming of 
the city by the heartless enemy, was anxious to make terms 
with him. In vain did the poet, Guido Posthumus, who 
had recently returned from Padua to his fatherland, urge 
his fellow citizens, in ardent verses, to resist the enemy.* 
The people rose Sunday, October 11th, even before Csesar 
had appeared under the city walls. What then happened 
is told in Sfroza's letter to Gonzaga: 

Illustrious Sir and Honored Brother-in-Law : Your 
Excellency doubtless has learned ere this how the people 
of Pesaro, last Sunday morning, incited by four scoundrels, 
rose in arms, and how I, with a few who remained faith- 
ful, was forced to retire to the castle as best I could. When 
I saw that the enemy was approaching, and that Ercole 
Bentivoglio, who was near Rimini, was pressing forward, 
I left the castle at night to avoid being shut in — this was 
on the advice and with the help of the Albanian Jacomo. 
In spite of the bad roads and great obstacles, I escaped to 
this place, for which I have, first of all, to thank your 
Excellency — you having sent me Jacomo — and next, to 
thank him for bringing me through safely. What I shall 
now do, I know not; but if I do not succeed in getting to 
your Excellency within four days, I will send Jacomo, who 
will tell you how everything happened, and what my plans 

* Ad. Pisaurenses: Guidi Posthumi Silvestris Pisaurensis Elegiarum 
Librii ii, p. 33. Bonon, 1524. 

160 



C^SAR AT PESAEO 

are. In the meantime I wish you to know that I am safe, 

and that I commend myself to you. Bologna, October 17, 

1500. Your Excellency's Brother-in-Law and Servant' 

Johannes Sforza of Aragon, Count of Co- 

tignola and Pesaro. 

October 19th he again wrote from Bologna, saying he 
was going to Ravenna, and intended to return from there 
to Pesaro, where the castle was still bravely holding out; 
he also asked the marquis to send him three hundred men. 
Three days later, however, he reported from Ravenna that 
the castle had capitulated. 

Caesar Borgia had taken the city of Pesaro, not only 
without resistance, but with the full consent of the people, 
and with public honors he entered the Sforza palace, where 
only four years before his sister had held her court. He 
took possession of the castle October 28th, summoned a 
painter had commanded him to draw a picture of it on 
paper for him to send the Pope. From the battlements 
of the castle of the Sforza twelve trumpeters sounded the 
glad tidings, and the heralds saluted Caesar as Lord of 
Pesaro. October 29th he set out for the castle of Gradara.* 

Among those who witnessed his entry into Pesaro was 
Pandolfo Collenuccio. On receiving news of the fall of 
the city, Duke Ercole, owing to fear, and also on account 
of a certain bargain between himself and the Pope, of 
which we shall soon speak, sent this man, whom Sforza 
had banished, and who had found an asylum in Ferrara, to 
Caesar to congratulate him. Collenuccio gave the duke a 
report of his mission, October 29th, in the following re- 
markable letter : 

My Illustrious Master : Having left your Excellency, 
I reached Pesaro two and a half days ago, arriving there 

* Pietro Marzetti, Memorie di Pesaro. Ms. in the Oliveriana. 
11 161 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Thursday at the twenty-fourth hour. At exactly the same 
time the Duke of Valentino made his entry. The entire 
populace was gathered about the city gate, and he was 
received during a heavy fall of rain, and was presented 
with the keys of the city. He took up his abode in the 
palace, in the room formerly occupied by Signor Giovanni. 
His entry, according to the reports of some of my people 
who witnessed it, was very impressive. It was orderly, 
and he was accompanied by numerous horse and foot sol- 
diers. The same evening I notified him of my arrival, and 
requested an audience whenever it should suit his Majesty's 
convenience. About two o'clock at night (eight o'clock in 
the evening) he sent Signor Ramiro and his majordomo 
to call upon me and to ask, in the most courteous manner, 
whether I was comfortably lodged, and whether, owing to 
the great number of people in the city, I lacked for any- 
thing. He had instructed them to tell me to rest myself 
thoroughly, and that he would receive me the following 
day. Early Wednesday he sent me by a courier, as a 
present, a sack of barley, a cask of wine, a wether, eight 
pairs of capons and hens, two large torches, two bundles 
of wax candles, and two boxes of sweetmeats. He, how- 
ever, did not appoint an hour for an audience, but sent his 
excuses and said I must not think it strange. The reason 
was that he had risen at the twentieth hour (two o'clock 
in the afternoon) and had dined, after which he had gone 
to the castle, where he remained until night, and whence 
he returned greatly exhausted owing to a sore he had in 
the groin. 

To-day, about the twenty-second hour (four in the 
afternoon), after he had dined, he had Signor Ramiro 
fetch me to him; and with great frankness and amiability 
his Majesty first made his excuses for not granting me an 
audience the preceding day, owing to his having so much 
to do in the castle and also on account of the pain caused 
by his ulcer. Following this, and after I had stated that 
the sole object of my mission was to wait upon his Majesty 
to congratulate and thank him, and to offer your services, 
he answered me in carefully chosen words, covering each 
point and very fluently. The gist of it was, that know- 
ing your Excellency's ability and goodness, he had always 
loved you and had hoped to enjoy personal relations with 
you. He had looked forward to this when you were in 

162 



CAESAR AT PESAEO 

Milan, but events and circumstances then prevented it. 
But now that he had come to this country, he — determined 
to have his wish — had written the letter announcing his suc- 
cesses, of his own free will and as proof of his love, and feel- 
ing certain that your Majesty would be pleased by it. He 
says he will continue to keep you informed of his doings, as 
he desires to establish a firm friendship with your Majesty, 
and he proffers everything he owns and in his power should 
you ever have need. He desires to look upon you as a 
father. He also thanked your Majesty for the letter and 
for having sent it him by a messenger, although the letter 
was unnecessary ; for even without it he would have known 
that your Majesty would be pleased by his success. In 
short, he could not have uttered better and more seemly 
words than those he used when he referred to you as his 
father and to himself as your son, which he did repeatedly. 

When I take both the actual facts and his words into 
consideration, I see why he wishes to establish some sort 
of friendly alliance with your Majesty. I believe in his 
professions, and I can see nothing but good in them. He 
was much pleased by your Majesty's sending a special 
messenger to him, and I heard that he had informed the 
Pope of it; to his followers here he spoke of it in a way 
that showed he considered it of the greatest moment. 

Replying in general terms, I said that I could only com- 
mend the wisdom he had shown in regard to your Excel- 
lency, owing to our position and to that of our State, 
which, however, could only redound to his credit; to this 
he emphatically assented. He gave me to understand that 
he recognized this perfectly, and thereupon, breaking the 
thread of our conversation, we came to the subject of 
Faenza. His Majesty said to me, " I do not know what 
Faenza wants to do ; she can give us no more trouble than 
did the others ; still she may delay matters. I replied that 
I believed she would do as the others had done ; but if she 
did not, it could only redound to his Majesty's glory; for 
it would give him another opportunity to display his skill 
and valor by capturing the place. This seemed to please 
him, and he answered that he would assuredly crush it. 
Bologna was not mentioned. He was pleased by the mes- 
sages which I brought him from your people, from Don 
Alfonso and the cardinal, of whom he spoke long and with 
every appearance of affection. 

163 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Thereupon, having been together a full half hour, I 
took my departure, and his Majesty, mounting his horse, 
rode forth. This evening he is going to Gradara; to- 
morrow to Rimini, and then farther. He is accompanied 
by all his troops, including the artillery. He told me he 
would not move so slowly but that he did not wish to leave 
the cannon behind. 

There are more than two thousand men quartered here 
but they have done no appreciable damage. The surround- 
ing country is swarming with troops; whether they have 
done much harm we do not know. He granted the city no 
privileges or exemptions. He left as his lieutenant a certain 
doctor of Forli. He took seventy pieces of artillery from 
the castle, and the guard he left there is very small. 

I will tell your Excellency something which a number 
of people mentioned to me ; it was, however, related to me 
in detail by a Portuguese cavalier, a soldier in the army 
of the Duke of Valentino who is lodged here in the house 
of my son-in-law with fifteen troopers — an upright man 
who was a friend of our lord, Don Fernando, when he 
was with King Charles. He told me that the Pope in- 
tended to give this city to Madonna Lucretia for her por- 
tion, and that he had found a husband for her, an Italian, 
who would always be able to retain the friendship of 
Valentino. Whether this be true I know not, but it is gen- 
erally believed. 

As to Fano, the Duke did not retain it. He was there 
five days. He did not want it, but the burghers presented 
it to him, and his it will be when he desires it. It is said 
the Pope commanded him not to take Fano unless the citi- 
zens themselves asked him to do so. Therefore it remained 
in statu quo. 

Postscript : 

The Duke 's daily life is as follows : he goes to bed 
at eight, nine, or ten o'clock at night (three to five o'clock 
in the morning). Consequently, the eighteenth hour is 
his dawn, the nineteenth his sunrise, and the twentieth his 
time for rising. Immediately on getting up he sits down 
to the table, and while there and afterwards he attends to 
his business affairs. He is considered brave, strong, and 
generous, and it is said he lays great store by straightfor- 
ward men. He is terrible in revenge — so many tell me. A 
man of strong good sense, and thirsting for greatness and 

164 



All Noblemen of Rome. 



CJ3SAR AT PESARO 

fame, he seems more eager to seize States than to keep and 
administer them. 

Your illustrious ducal Majesty's servant, 

Pandulphus. 
Pesaro, Thursday, October 29, 
Six o'clock at night, 1500. 

The Duke's Retinue 

Bartolomeo of Capranica, Field-Marshal. 

Piero Santa Croce. 

Giulio Alberino. 

Mario Don Marian de Stephano. 

A brother of the last. 

Menico Sanguigni. 

Jo. Baptista Mancini. 

Dorio Savello. 

Prominent Men in the Duke's Household. 
Bishop of Elna, ) . 

Bishop of Sancta Sista, ) ^ 
Bishop of Trani, an Italian. 
A Neapolitan abbot. 

Sig r Ramiro del Orca, Governor; he is the factotum. 
Don Hieronymo, a Portuguese. 
Messer Agabito da Amelio, Secretary. 
Mes r Alexandro Spannocchia, Treasurer, who says that the duke since 

his departure from Rome up to the present time has spent daily, on 

the average, eighteen hundred ducats. 

Collenuccio in his letter omits to mention the fact that 
he had addressed to Caasar, the new master of Pesaro, a 
complaint against its former lord, Giovanni Sforza, and 
that the duke had reinstated him in the possession of his 
confiscated property. He was destined a few years later 
bitterly to regret having taken this step. Guido Posthu- 
mus, on the other hand, whose property Cassar appropriated 
fled to the Rangone in Modena. Sforza, expelled, reached 
Venice November 2d, where he endeavored, according to 
Malipiero, to sell the Republic his estates of Pesaro — in 

165 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

which attempt he failed. Thence he went to Mantua. At 
that time Modena and Mantua were the asylums of numer- 
ous exiled tyrants who were hospitably received into the 
beautiful castle of the Gonzaga, which was protected by the 
swamps of the Mincio. 

After the fall of Pesaro, Rimini likewise expelled its 
hated oppressors, the brothers Pandolfo and Carlo Mala- 
testa, whereupon Caesar Borgia laid siege to Faenza. The 
youthful Astorre, its lord, finally surrendered, April 25, 
1501, to the destroyer, on the duke's promise not to deprive 
him of his liberty. Caesar, however, sent the unfortunate 
young man to Rome, where he and his brother Octavian, 
together with several other victims, were confined in the 
castle of S. Angelo. This was the same Astorre with whom 
Cardinal Alessandro Farnese wished to unite his sister 
Giulia in marriage, and the unfortunate youth may now 
have regretted that this alliance had not taken place. 



166 



CHAPTER XIX 

ANOTHER MARRIAGE PLANNED FOR LUCRETIA 

During this time Lucretia, with her child Rodrigo, was 
living in the palace of S. Peter's. If she was inclined to 
grieve for her husband, her father left her little time to 
give way to her feelings. He had recourse to her thought- 
lessness and vanity, for the dead Alfonso was to be re- 
placed by another and greater Alfonso. Scarcely was the 
Duke of Biselli interred before a new alliance was planned. 
As early as November, 1500, there was talk of Lucretia 's 
marrying the hereditary Prince of Ferrara, who, since 
1497, had been a widower; he was childless, and was just 
twenty-four years of age. Marino Zorzi, the new Venetian 
ambassador, first mentioned the project to his signory 
November 26th. This union, however, had been considered 
in the Vatican much earlier — in fact while Lucretia 's hus- 
band was still living. At the Christmas holidays of 1500 
it was publicly stated that she was to marry the Duke of 
Gravina, an Orsini who, undeterred by the fate of Lucre- 
tia 's former husbands, came to Rome in December to sue for 
her hand. Some hope was held out to him, probably with 
a view to retaining the friendship of his family. 

Alexander himself conceived the plan of marrying Lu- 
cretia to Alfonso of Ferrara. He desired this alliance both 
on his beloved daughter's account and because it could 
not fail to prove advantageous to Cassar ; it would not only 
assure to him the possession of Romagna, which Venice 

167 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

might try to wrest from him, but it would also increase 
his chances of consummating his plans regarding Bologna 
and Florence. At the same time it would bring to him 
the support of the dynasties of Mantua and Urbino, which 
were connected by marriage with the house of Ferrara. It 
would be the nucleus of a great league, including France, 
the Papacy, Caesar's States, Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino, 
which would be sufficiently strong to defend Alexander 
and his house against all enemies. 

If the King of France was to maintain his position in 
Italy he would require, above all else, the help of the Pope. 
He already occupied Milan, and he wished to seize half of 
the kingdom of Naples and hold it as a vassal of the 
Church; for France and Spain had already agreed upon 
the wicked partition of Naples, to which Alexander had 
thus far neither refused nor given his consent. 

In order to win over the Duke of Ferrara to his bold 
scheme, Alexander availed himself, first of all, of Giam- 
battista Ferrari of Modena, an old retainer of Ercole, who 
was wholly devoted to the Pope, and whom he had made 
datarius and subsequently a cardinal. Ferrari ventured 
to suggest the marriage to the duke, " on account," so he 
wrote him, " of the great advantage which would accrue 
to his State from it. " * This proposal caused Ercole no 
less embarrassment than King Federico of Naples had felt 
when he was placed in a similar position. His pride re- 
belled. His daughter, the noble Marchioness Isabella of 
Mantua, and her sister-in-law Elisabetta of Urbino, were 
literally beside themselves. The youthful Alfonso objected 
most vigorously. Moreover, there was a plan afoot to 
marry the hereditary duke to a princess of the royal house 

* Cardinal Ferrari to Ercole, Rome, February 18, 1501. This is the 
first of the letters regarding this subject in the archives of Modena. 

168 



ANOTHER M-ARRIAGE PLANNED 

of France, Louise, widow of the Duke of Angouleme.* 
Ercole rejected the offer absolutely. 

Alexander had foreseen his opposition, but he felt sure 
he could overcome it. He had the advantages of the al- 
liance pointed out more clearly, and also the disadvantages 
which might result from a refusal; on one hand was Fer- 
rara's safety and advancement, and on the other the hos- 
tility of Cassar and the Pope, and perhaps also that of 
France.f Alexander was so certain of his victory that he 
made no secret of the projected marriage, and he even 
spoke of it with satisfaction in the consistory, as if it were 
an accomplished fact4 He succeeded in winning the sup- 
port of the French court, which, however, was not difficult, 
as Louis XII was then very anxious for the Pope to allow 
him to lead his army out of Tuscany, through the States 
of the Church, into Naples, which he could not do with- 
out the secret consent of his Holiness. Above all, the 
Pope counted on the help of Cardinal Amboise, to whom 
Caesar had taken the red hat when he went to France, and 
whose ambitious glances were directed toward the papal 
throne, which, with the aid of his friend Cassar and of the 
Spanish cardinals, he hoped to reach on the death of Alex- 
ander. 

It is, nevertheless, a fact that Louis XII at first was op- 
posed to the match, and even endeavored to prevent it. 
He himself was not only determinedly set against every- 
thing which would increase the power of Csesar and the 
Pope, but he was also anxious to enhance his own influence 
with Ferrara by bringing about the marriage of Alfonso 

* Ercole's letter to his ambassador in Florence, Manfredo Manfredi, 
April 25, 1501. Archives of Modena. 
f Ferrari to Ercole, May 1, 1501. 
X Girolamo Sacrati to Ercole, Rome, May 8, 1501. 

169 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

and some French princess. In May Alexander sent a secre- 
tary to France to induce the king to use his influence to 
effect the alliance, but this Louis declined to do.* On the 
other hand, he was anxious to bring about the marriage of 
Don Ferrante, Alfonso's brother, with Lucretia, and secure 
for her, as portion, the territory of Piombino.f He had also 
placed a check on Caesar's operations in Central Italy, in 
consequence of which the latter 's attempts against Bologna 
and Florence had miscarried. 

The whole scheme for the marriage would have fallen 
through if the subject of the French expedition against 
Naples had not just then come up. There is ground for 
believing that the Pope's consent was made contingent 
upon the King's agreeing to the marriage. 

June 13, 1501, Caesar himself, now created Duke of 
Romagna by his father, came secretly to Rome, where he 
remained three weeks, exerting all his efforts to further 
the plan. After this, he and his men at arms followed the 
French Marshal Aubigny, who had set out from near 
Rome for Naples, to engage in a nefarious war of conquest, 
whose horrors, in the briefest of time, overwhelmed the 
house of Aragon. 

As early as June the King of France yielded to the 
Pope's solicitations, and exerted his influence in Ferrara, 
as appears from a despatch of the Ferrarese ambassador 
to France, dated June 22d. He reported to Ercole that he 
had stated to the king that the Pope threatened to deprive 
the duke of his domain if he did not consent to the mar- 
riage ; whereupon the king replied that Ferrara was under 

* Bartolomeo de' Cavallieri, Ferrarese ambassador to France, to 
Ercole, Chalons, May 26, 1501. 

f At least such was the plan advocated by Monsignor de Trans, 
French ambassador in Rome. Letter of Aldovrandus de Guidonibus to 
Duke Ercole, Lugo, April 25, 1501. State archives of Modena. 

170 



ANOTHER MARRIAGE PLANNED 

his protection and could fall only when France fell. The 
envoy feared that the Pope might avail himself of the 
question of the investiture of Naples — upon which the 
king was determined — to win him over to his side. He 
finally wrote the duke that Monsignor de Trans, the most 
influential person at the king's court, had advised him to 
agree to the marriage upon the conditional payment of two 
hundred thousand ducats, the remission of Ferrara's an- 
nual dues, and certain benefices for the house of Este.* 

Amboise sent the Archbishop of Narbonne and other 
agents to Ferrara to win over the duke ; the King of France 
himself wrote and urged him to give his consent, and he 
now refused Don Alfonso the hand of the French princess. 
While the French ambassador was presenting his case to 
the duke, the Pope's messengers and Caesar's agents were 
also endeavoring to secure his consent. Caught in a net- 
work of intrigue, fear at last forced Ercole to yield. 

July 8th he had Louis XII notified that he would do as 
he wished, if he and the Pope could agree upon the con- 
ditions, f He yielded only to the demand of the king, who 
advised the marriage solely because he himself had need 
of the Pope. All the while he was urging Ercole to give 
his consent, he was also counselling him not to be in too 
great haste to send his son Don Ferrante to Rome to con- 
clude the matter, but to hold him back as long as possible 
— until he himself should reach Lombardy, which would 
be in September. He even had Ercole informed that he 
would keep his promise to bestow the hand of Madonna 
d'Angouleme on Don Alfonso, and he made no effort 
to conceal the displeasure he felt on account of the 

* Bartolomeo de' Cavallieri to Ercole, Lyons, June 22, 1501. 
t Ercole to Giovanni Valla, July 8, 1501. Ercole to the Cardinal of 
Rouen, July 8, 1501. 

171 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

projected alliance with Lucretia.* To the Ferrarese am- 
bassador he remarked that he would consider the duke un- 
wise if he allowed his son to marry the daughter of the 
Pope, for, on Alexander's death, he would no longer know 
with whom he had concluded the alliance, and Alfonso's 
position would become very uncertain.! 

The duke did not hurry; it is true he sent his secre- 
tary, Hector Bellingeri, to Rome, but only for the purpose 
of telling the Pope that he had yielded to the king's 
wishes upon the condition that his own demands would 
be satisfied. The Pope and Caesar, however, urged that 
the marriage contract be executed at once, and they re- 
quested the Cardinal of Rouen, who was then in Milan, 
to induce Ercole to send his son Alfonso there (to Milan), 
so that the transaction might be concluded in the cardinal 's 
presence. This the duke refused to do until the Pope 
agreed to the conditions upon which he had based his 
consent.^ 

While these shameful negotiations regarding Lucretia 
were dragging on, Caesar was in Naples, and was the instru- 
ment and witness of the sudden overthrow of the hated 
house of Aragon, whose throne, however, was not to fall to 
his portion. Alexander used this opportunity to appropri- 
ate the property of the barons of Latium, especially that 
of the Colonna, the Savelli, and Estouteville, all of which, 
owing to the Neapolitan war, had been left without pro- 
tection. The confiscation of this property was, as we shall 
soon see, part of the scheme which included the marriage. 
As early as June, 1501, he had taken possession of a num- 

* Despatches of Bartolomeo de'Cavallieri, Ferrarese ambassador at 
the court of France, to Ercole, July 10, 14, and 21, 1501. 

f Despatch of the same, undated. 

$ Ercole to Giovanni Valla, his special envoy to the Cardinal of 
Rouen, in Milan, July 21 and 26, 1501. 

172 



ANOTHER MARRIAGE PLANNED 

ber of cities belonging to these families. Alexander, ac- 
companied by croops, horse and foot-soldiers, went to Ser- 
moneta July 27th. 

This was ;he time that — just before his departure — he 
made Lucreta his representative in the Vatican. Follow- 
ing are Burcaard 's words : ' ' Before his Holiness, our Mas- 
ter, left the city, he turned over the palace and all the 
business affairs to his daughter Lucretia, authorizing her 
to open all letters which should come addressed to him. 
In important matters she was to ask advice of the Cardinal 
of Lisbon. 

" When a certain matter came up — I do not know just 
what it was — it is said Lucretia went to the above- 
named cardinal and informed him of the Pope's instruc- 
tions, and laid the matter before him. Thereupon he said 
to her, that whenever the Pope had anything to submit to 
the consistory, the vice-chancellor, or some other cardinal 
in his stead, would write it down together with the opinions 
of those present; therefore some one should now record 
what is said. Lucretia replied, ' I can write very well.' 
' Where is your pen? ' asked the cardinal. Lucretia saw 
that he was joking, and she laughed, and thus their con- 
ference had a fit ending." 

What a scene for the Vatican ! A young and beautiful 
woman, the Pope's own daughter, presiding over the car- 
dinals in consistory. This one scene is sufficent to show 
to what depths the Church of Rome had sunk ; it is more 
convincing than a thousand satires, than a thousand official 
reports. The affairs which the Pope entrusted to his 
daughter were — at least so we assume — wholly secular and 
not ecclesiastical; but this bold proceeding was entirely 
unprecedented. The prominence given Lucretia, the high- 
est proof of favor her father could show her, was due to 

173 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

special reasons. Alexander had just been assured of the 
consent of Alfonso d'Este to the marriage with Lucretia, 
and in his joy he made her regent in the Vatican. This 
was to show that he recognized in her, tha prospective 
Duchess of Ferrara, a person of weight in the politics of 
the peninsula. In doing this he was simply imitating the 
example of Ercole and other princes, who were accustomed, 
when absent from their domains, to confide state business 
to the women of their families. 

The duke had found it difficult to overcome his son's 
objections, for nothing could offend the young prince so 
deeply as the determination to compel him to marry Lu- 
cretia; not because she was an illegitimate child, for this 
blot signified little in that age when bastards flourished in 
all Latin countries. Many of the ruling dynasties of Italy 
bore this stain — the Sforza, the Malatesta, the Bentivoglio, 
and the Aragonese of Naples ; even the brilliant Borso, the 
first Duke of Ferrara, was the illegitimate brother of his 
successor, Ercole. Lucretia, however, was the daughter 
of a Pope, the child of a priest, and this, in the eyes of the 
Este, constituted her disgrace. Neither her father's licen- 
tiousness nor Caesar's crimes could have greatly affected 
the moral sense of the court of Ferrara, but not one of the 
princely houses of that age was so depraved that it was 
indifferent to the reputation of a woman destined to become 
one of its prominent members. 

Alfonso was the prospective husband of a young woman 
whose career, although she was only twenty-one years of 
age, had been most extraordinary. Twice had Lucretia 
been legally betrothed, twice had she been married, and 
twice had she been made a widow by the wickedness or 
crimes of others. Her reputation, consequently, was bad, 
therefore Alfonso, himself a man of the world, never could 

174 



ANOTHER MARRIAGE PLANNED 

feel sure of this young woman's virtue, even if he did 
not believe all the reports which were circulated regard- 
ing her. The scandalous gossip about everything which 
takes place at court passed from city to city just as 
quickly then as it does now. The duke and his son were 
informed by their agents of everything which actually oc- 
curred in the Borgia family, as well as of every story which 
was started concerning its members. The frightful reasons 
which the disgraced Sforza had given Lucretia's father in 
writing as grounds for the annulment of his marriage 
were at once communicated to the duke in Ferrara. The 
following year his agent in Venice informed him that " a 
report had come from Rome that the Pope's daughter had 
given birth to an illegitimate child. ' ' * Moreover, all the 
satires with which the enemies of the Borgias persecuted 
them — including Lucretia — were well known at the court 
of Ferrara, and doubtless maliciously enjoyed. Are we 
warranted in assuming that the Este considered these re- 
ports and satires as really well founded, and yet overcame 
their scruples sufficiently to receive a Thais into their house 
when they would have incurred much less danger by fol- 
lowing the example of Federico of Naples, who had per- 
sisted in refusing his daughter's hand to Caesar Borgia? 

It is now time to investigate the charges which were 
made against Lucretia; and, in view of what Roscoe and 
others have already proved, this will not occupy us long. 
The number of accusers among her contemporaries cer- 
tainly is not small. The following — to name only the most 
important — charged her explicitly or by implication with 
incest: the poets Sannazzaro and Pontanus, and the his- 

* Da Roma accertasi, che la figliola del papa ha partorito. . . . Giov. 
Alberto della Pigna to the duke, Venice, March 15, 1498. Archives 
of Modena. 

175 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

torians and statesmen Matarazzo, Marcus Attilius Alexis, 
Petrus Martyr, Priuli, Macchiavelli, and Guicciardini, 
and their opinions have been constantly reiterated down 
to the present time. On the other side we have her eulo- 
gists among her contemporaries and their successors. 

Here it should be noted that Lucretia's accusers and 
their charges can refer only to the Roman period of her 
life, while her admirers appear only in the second epoch, 
when she was Duchess of Ferrara. Among the latter are 
men who are no less famous than her accusers: Tito and 
Ercole Strozzi, Bembo, Aldo Manuzio, Tebaldeo, Ariosto, 
all the chroniclers of Ferrara, and the French biographer 
Bayard. All these bore witness to the uprightness of her 
life while in Ferrara, but of her career in Rome they knew 
nothing. Lucretia's advocate, therefore, can offer only 
negative proofs of her virtue. Even making allowance for 
the courtier's flattery, we are warranted in assuming that 
upright men like Aldo, Bembo, and Ariosto could never 
have been so shameless as to pronounce a woman the ideal 
character of her day if they had believed her guilty, or 
even capable, of the hideous crimes with which she had 
been charged only a short time before. 

Among Lucretia's accusers only those who were actual 
witnesses of her life in Rome are worthy of attention; and 
Guicciardini, her bitterest enemy, is not of this number. 
The verdicts of all later writers, however, have been based 
upon his opinion of Lucretia, because of his fame as a 
statesman and historian. He himself made up his esti- 
mate from current gossip or from the satires of Pontanus 
and Sannazzaro — two poets who lived in Naples and not 
in Rome. Their epigrams merely show that they were in- 
spired by a deep-seated hatred of Alexander and Cassar, 
who had wrought the overthrow of the Aragonese dynasty, 

176 




GUICCIAEDINI. 

From an engraving by Blanehard. 



ANOTHER MARRIAGE PLANNED 

and further with what crimes men were ready to credit 
evil-doers. 

The words of Burchard, who was a daily witness of 
everything that occurred in the Vatican, must be con- 
sidered as of much greater weight. Against him in par- 
ticular has the spleen of the papists been directed, for by 
them his writings are regarded as the poisonous source 
from which the enemies of the papacy, especially the Prot- 
estants, have derived material for their slanders regarding 
Alexander VI. Their anger may readily be explained, for 
Burchard 's diary is the only work written in Rome — with 
the exception of that of Infessura, which breaks off 
abruptly at the beginning of 1494 — which treats of Alex- 
ander's court; moreover, it possesses an official character. 
Those, however, who attempt to palliate the doings of the 
papacy would feel less hatred for Burchard if they were 
acquainted with the reports of the Venetian envoys and 
the despatches of innumerable other ambassadors which 
have been used in this work. 

Burchard is absolutely free from malice, making no 
mention whatever of Alexander's private conduct. He 
records only facts — never rumors — and these he glosses over 
or cloaks diplomatically. The Venetian ambassador Polo 
Capello reports how Caesar Borgia stabbed the chamber- 
lain Perotto through the Pope's robe, but Burchard makes 
no mention of the fact. The same ambassador explicitly 
states, as does also a Ferrarese agent, that Caesar killed 
his brother Gandia; Burchard, however, utters not a 
word concerning the subject.* Nor does he say anything 

* One of the first statements that Caesar was his brother's murderer 
is found in a despatch of the Ferrarese ambassador at Venice. De novo 
ho inteso, como de la morte del Duca di Candia fo causa el Cardinale 
suo fratello. Pigna's despatch to Ercole, Venice, February 22, 1498. 

12 177 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

about the way Caesar despatched his brother-in-law Alfonso. 
The relations of the members of the Borgia family to 
each other and to strangers, such as the Farnese, the 
Pucci, and the Orsini; the intrigues at the papal court; 
the long series of crimes; the extortion of money; the 
selling of the cardinal's hat; and all the other enormities 
which fill the despatches of the ambassadors — regarding 
all this Burchard is silent. Even Vannozza he names but 
once, and then incorrectly. There are two passages in 
particular in his diary which have given the greatest 
offense : the report of the bacchanal of fifty harlots in the 
Vatican, and the attack made on the Borgias in the 
anonymous letter to Silvio Savelli. These passages are 
found in all the manuscripts and doubtless also in the 
original of the diary. That the letter to Silvio is. a fabri- 
cation of neither Burchard nor of some malicious Prot- 
estant is proved by the fact that Marino Sanuto also re- 
produces it in his diary. Further, that neither Burchard 
nor any subsequent writer concocted the story of the Vati- 
can bacchanal is proved by the same letter, whose author 
relates it as a well-known fact. Matarazzo of Perugia 
also confirms it ; his account differs from that of Burchard, 
whose handwriting he could hardly have seen at that 
time, but it agrees with reports which he himself had 
heard. He remarks that he gave it full credence, ' ' for the 
thing was known far and wide, and because my inform- 
ants were not Romans merely, but were the Italian people, 
therefore have I mentioned it." 

This remark indicates the source of the scandalous 
anecdote — it was common talk. It doubtless was based 
upon an actual banquet which Caesar gave in his palace 
in the Vatican. Some such orgy may have taken place 
there, but who will believe that Lucretia, now the legally 

178 



ANOTHER MAREIAGE PLANNED 

recognized bride of Alfonso d'Este and about to set out for 
Ferrara, was an amused spectator of it? 

This is the only passage in Burchard's diary where 
Lucretia appears in an unfavorable light; nowhere else 
has he recorded anything discreditable to her. The ac- 
cusations of the Neopolitans and of Guicciardini are not 
substantiated by anything in his diary. In fact we find 
corroboration nowhere unless we regard Matarazzo as an 
authority, which he certainly was not. He states that 
Giovanni Sforza had discovered that criminal relations 
existed between his wife and Cgesar and Don Giovanni, to 
which a still more terrible suspicion was added. Sforza, 
therefore, had murdered Gandia and fled from Rome, 
and in consequence Alexander had dissolved his mar- 
riage. Setting aside the monstrous idea that the young 
woman was guilty at one and the same time of three- 
fold incest, Matarazzo 's account contains an anachro- 
nism: Sforza left Rome two months before the murder 
of Gandia. 

An authentic despatch of the Ferrarese ambassador in 
Milan, dated June 23, 1497, makes it clear that Lucretia 's 
worthless consort was the one who started these rumors 
about her. Certainly no one could have known Lucretia 's 
character and mode of life better than her husband. 
Nevertheless Sforza, before the tribunals of every age, 
would be precisely the one whose testimony would receive 
the least credit. Consuming with hate and a desire for 
revenge, this was the reason he ascribed to the evil- 
minded Pope for dissolving the marriage. Thus the sus- 
picion he let drop became a rumor, and the rumor ulti- 
mately crystallized into a belief. In this connection, how- 
ever, it is worthy of note that Guido Posthumus, Sforza 's 
faithful retainer, who in epigrams revenged himself on 

179 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Alexander for his master's disgrace, neither mentions this 
suspicion nor anywhere refers to Lucretia.* 

In none of the numerous despatches of the day is this 
suspicion mentioned, although in a private letter of Mali- 
piero's, dated Rome, June 17, 1497, and in one of Polo 
Capello's reports, allusion is made to the " rumor " re- 
garding the criminal relations of Don Giovanni and his 
sister.f Could the fact that Lucretia never engaged in any 
love intrigue — at least she is not charged with having done 
so — with anyone else, when there were in Rome so many 
courtiers, young nobles, and great cardinals who were her 
daily companions, have given rise to these reports'? It is 
a fact that nothing has been discovered which would indi- 
cate that this beautiful young woman ever did engage in 
any love affair. Even the report of the ambassador, who, 
writing to Ferrara, not from Rome but from Venice, states 
that Lucretia had given birth to a child stands alone. She 
had at that time been separated from her husband Sforza 
a whole year. But even if we admit that this rumor was 
well founded, and that Lucretia did engage in some illicit 
love affair, are not these relations and slips frequent 
enough in all societies and at all times ? Even now nothing 
is more readily glossed over in the polite world. 

It is difficult to believe that Lucretia, in the midst of the 
depravity of Rome, and in the environment in which she 
was placed, could have kept herself spotless; but just as 

* Compare Sannazzaro's epitaph on Alexander VI with the epigram 
of Guido Posthumus: In Tumulum Sexti. 

f The Malipiero letter (Archiv. Stor. It. VII, i, 490) contains the 
following: Si dice, que il sig. Giovanni Sforza ha fatto questo effetto (the 
murder of Gandia) perche il Duca (di Gandia) usava con la sorella, sua 
consorte, la qual e fiola del Papa, ma d'un altra madre (which was in- 
correct). The Venetian ambassador, Polo Capello, refers to this rumor 
(si dice) in his well known Relation of September, 1500. 

180 



ANOTHER MARRIAGE PLANNED 

little will any unprejudiced person believe that she was 
really guilty of that unmentionable crime. If it were pos- 
sible to conceive that a young woman could have the 
strength — a strength beyond that of the most depraved and 
hardened man — to hide behind a joyous exterior the moral 
perturbation which the most loathsome crime in the world 
would certainly cause the subject, we should be forced to 
admit that Lucretia Borgia possessed a power of dissimula- 
tion which passed all human bounds. Nothing, however, 
charmed the Ferrarese so much as the never failing, grace- 
ful joyousness of Alfonso's young wife. Any woman of 
feeling can decide correctly whether — if Lucretia were 
guilty of the crimes with which she was charged — she could 
have appeared as she did, and whether the countenance which 
we behold in the portrait of the bride of Alfonso d 'Este in 
1502 could be the face of the inhuman fury described in 
Sannazzaro's epigram. 



181 



CHAPTER XX 

NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE HOUSE OF ESTE 

The hereditary Prince of Ferrara made a determined 
resistance before yielding to his father's pressure, but the 
latter was now so anxious for the marriage to take place 
that he told his son that, if he persisted in his refusal, he 
would be compelled to marry Lucretia himself. After the 
duke had overcome his son's pride and secured his consent, 
he regarded the marriage merely as an advantageous piece 
of statecraft. He sold the honor of his house at the high- 
est price obtainable. The Pope's agents in Ferrara, fright- 
ened by Ercole's demands, sent Raimondo Romolini to Rome 
to submit them to Alexander, who sought the intervention 
of the King of France to secure more favorable terms from 
the duke. A letter from the Ferrarese ambassador to 
France to his master throws a bright light on this transac- 
tion. 

My Illustrious Master: Yesterday the Pope's envoy 
told me that his Holiness had written him about the mes- 
senger your Excellency had sent him demanding two 
hundred thousand ducats, the remission of the annual 
tribute, the granting of the jus patronatus for the bishop- 
ric of Ferrara, by decree of the consistory, and certain 
other concessions. He told me that the Pope had offered a 
hundred thousand, and as to the rest — your Excellency 
should trust to him, for he would grant them in time and 
would advance the interests of the house of Este so that 
everyone would see how high in his favor it stood. In ad- 
dition, he told me that he was instructed to ask his most 

182 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

Christian Majesty to write to the illustrious cardinal to 
advise your Excellency to agree. As your Excellency's 
devoted servant I mention this, although it is superfluous; 
for if this marriage is to take place, you will arrange it in 
such a way that " much promising and little fulfillment " 
will not cause you to regret it. I informed your Excel- 
lency in an earlier letter how his most Christian Majesty 
had told me that his wishes in this affair were the same as 
your own, and that if the marriage was to be brought 
about, you might derive as much profit from it as possible, 
and if it was not to take place, his Majesty stood ready to 
give Don Alfonso the lady whom your Excellency might 
select for him in France. 

Your ducal Excellency's servant, 

Bartolomeo Cavaleri. 
Lyons, August 7, 1501. 

Alexander did not wish to send his daughter to Ferrara 
with empty hands, but the portion which Ercole demanded 
was not a modest one. It was larger than Blanca Sforza 
had brought the Emperor Maximilian; moreover, one of 
the duke 's demands involved an infraction of the canon law, 
for, in addition to the large sum of money, he insisted upon 
the remission of the yearly tribute paid the Church by the 
fief of Ferrara, the cession of Cento and Pieve, cities which 
belonged to the archbishopric of Bologna, and even on the 
relinquishment of Porto Cesenatico and a large number of 
benefices in favor of the house of Este. They wrangled 
violently, but so great was the Pope's desire to secure the 
ducal throne of Ferrara for his daughter that he soon an- 
nounced that he would practically agree to Ercole 's de- 
mands, which Caesar urged him to do.* Nor was Lucretia 
herself less urgent in begging her father to consent; she 

* Cavallieri to Ercole, Lyons, August 8, 1501. The Pope has writ- 
ten his nuncio that he agreed to the duke's demands, for the purpose of 
concluding the marriage, which would be extraordinarily advantageous 
to himself and the Duke of Romagna. 

183 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

was the duke's most able advocate in Rome, and Ercole 
knew that it was due largely to her skilful pleading that 
he succeeded in carrying his point. 

The negotiations took this favorable turn about the end 
of July or the beginning of August, and the earliest of the 
duke's letters to Lucretia and the Pope, among those pre- 
served in the archives of the house of Este, belong to this 
period. 

August 6th Ercole wrote his future daughter-in-law, 
recommending to her for her agent one Agostino Huet (a 
secretary of Caesar's), who had shown the greatest interest 
in conducting the negotiations. 

August 10th he reported to the Pope the result of the 
conferences which had taken place, and urged him not to 
look on his demands as unreasonable. This he repeated in a 
letter dated August 21st, in which he stated in plain, com- 
mercial terms that the price was low enough ; in fact, that 
it was merely nominal. 

In the meantime the projected marriage had become 
known to the world, and was the subject of diplomatic con- 
sideration, for the strengthening of the papacy was agree- 
able to neither the Powers of Italy nor those beyond the 
peninsula. Florence and Bologna, which Cassar coveted 
were frightened ; the Republic of Venice, which was in con- 
stant friction with Ferrara, and which had designs upon the 
coast of Romagna, did not conceal her annoyance, and she 
ascribed the whole thing to Caesar's ambition.* The King 
of France put a good face upon the matter, as did also the 
King of Spain ; but Maximilian was so opposed to the mar- 
riage that he endeavored to prevent it. Ferrara was just 
beginning to acquire the political importance which Flor- 

* Despatches of the Ferrarese ambassador, Bartolomeo Cartari, from 
Venice, June 25, July 28, and August 2, 1501. Archives of Modena. 

184 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

ence had possessed in the time of Lorenzo de' Medici, con- 
sequently its influence was such that the German emperor 
could not be indifferent to an alliance between it and the 
papacy and France. Moreover, Blanca Sforza was Maxi- 
milian's wife, and at the German court there were other 
members and retainers of the overthrown house — all bitter 
enemies of the Borgias. 

In August the Emperor despatched letters to Ferrara in 
which he warned Ercole against any marital alliance be- 
tween his house and that of Alexander. This warning of 
Maximilian 's must have been highly acceptable to the duke, 
as he could use it to force the Pope to accede to his de- 
mands. He mentioned the letter to his Holiness, but 
assured him that his determination would remain unshaken. 
Then he instructed his counselor, Gianluca Pozzi, to answer 
the Emperor's letter.* Ercole 's letter to his chancellor is 
dated August 25th, but before its contents became known in 
Rome the Pope hastened to agree to the duke's conditions, 
and to have the marriage contract executed. This was done 
in the Vatican, August 26, 1501. f 

He immediately despatched Cardinal Ferrari to Ercole 
with the contract, whereupon Don Ramiro Romolini and 
other proxies hastened to Ferrara,^; where, in the castle of 
Belfiore, the nuptial contract was concluded ad verba, Sep- 
tember 1, 1501. 

On the same day the duke wrote Lucretia, saying that, 
while he hitherto had loved her on account of her virtues 
and on account of the Pope and her brother Caesar, he now 
loved her more as a daughter. In the same tone he wrote to 

* Ercole's letter to Pozzi in Ferrara, August 25, 1501. Maximilian's 
letters are not in the Este archives but in Vienna, 
f The instrument was drawn by Beneimbene. 
X Cardinal Ferrari to Ercole, Rome, August 27, 1501. 

185 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

Alexander himself, informing him that the betrothal had 
taken place, and thanking him for bestowing the dignity of 
Archpriest of S. Peter's on his son, Cardinal Ippolito.* 

Less diplomatic was Ercole's letter to the Marchese Gon- 
zaga informing him of the event. It clearly shows what 
was his real opinion, and he tries to excuse himself for con- 
senting by saying he was forced to take the step. 

Illustrious Sir and Dearest Brother: We have in- 
formed your Majesty that we have recently decided — 
owing to practical considerations — to consent to an alliance 
between our house and that of his Holiness — the marriage 
of our eldest son, Alfonso, and the illustrious lady Lucretia 
Borgia, sister of the illustrious Duke of Romagna and 
Valentinois, chiefly because we were urged to consent by his 
Most Christian Majesty, and on condition that his Holiness 
would agree to everything stipulated in the marriage con- 
tract. Subsequently his Holiness and ourselves came to an 
agreement, and the Most Christian King persistently 
urged us to execute the contract. This was done to-day in 
God's name, and with the assistance of the (French) am- 
bassador and the proxies of his Holiness, who were pres- 
ent; and it was also published this morning. I hasten to 
inform your Majesty of the event because our mutual rela- 
tions and love require that you should be made acquainted 
with everything which concerns us — and so we offer our- 
selves to do your pleasure. 

Ferkara, September 2, 1501. f 

September 4th a courier brought the news that the nup- 
tial contract had been signed in Ferrara. Alexander im- 
mediately had the Vatican illuminated and the cannon of 
Castle S. Angelo announce the glad tidings. All Rome 
resounded with the jubilations of the retainers of the house 
of Borgia. 

* Ducal Records, September 1, 1501. 

f The letter is reproduced in Zucchetti's Lucrezia Borgia, Duchessa 
di Ferrara, Milan, 1869. 

186 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

This moment was the turning point in Lucretia's life. 
If her soul harbored any ambition and yearning for worldly 
greatness, what must she now have felt when the opportu- 
nity to ascend the princely throne of one of Italy's oldest 
houses was offered her ! If she had any regret and loathing 
for what had surrounded her in Rome, and if longings for 
a better life were stronger in her than were these vain 
desires, there was now held out to her the promise of a 
haven of rest. She was to become the wife of a prince 
famous, not for grace and culture, but for his good sense 
and earnestness. She had seen him once in Rome, in her 
early youth, when she was Sf orza 's betrothed. No sacrifice 
would be too great for her if it would wipe out the remem- 
brance of the nine years which had followed that day. The 
victory she had now won by the shameful complaisance of 
the house of Este was associated with deep humiliation, for 
she knew that Alfonso had condescended to accept her hand 
only after long urging and under threats. A bold, intrigu- 
ing woman might overcome this feeling of humiliation by 
summoning up the consciousness of her genius and her 
charm ; while one less strong, but endowed with beauty and 
sweetness, might be fascinated by the idea of disarming a 
hostile husband with the magic of her personality. The 
question, however, whether any honor accrued to her by 
marrying a man against his will, or whether under such 
circumstances a high-minded woman would not have scorn- 
fully refused, would probably never arise in the mind of 
such a light-headed woman as Lucretia certainly was, and 
if it did in her case, Cassar and her father would never have 
allowed her to give voice to any such undiplomatic scruples. 
We can discover no trace of moral pride in her ; all we dis- 
cern is a childishly naive joy at her prospective happiness. 

The Roman populace saw her, accompanied by three 
187 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

hundred knights and four bishops, pass along the city 
streets, September 5th, on her way to S. Maria del Popolo 
to offer prayers of thanksgiving. Following a curious cus- 
tom of the day, which shows Folly and Wisdom side by 
side, just as we find them in Calderon's and Shakespeare's 
dramas, Lucretia presented the costly robe which she wore 
when she offered up her prayer, to one of her court fools, 
and the clown ran merrily through the streets of Rome, 
bawling out, " Long live the illustrious Duchess of Fer- 
rara! Long live Pope Alexander! " With noisy demon- 
strations the Borgias and their retainers celebrated the 
great event. 

Alexander summoned a consistory, as though this 
family affair were an important Church matter. With 
childish loquacity he extolled Duke Ercole, pronouncing 
him the greatest and wisest of the princes of Italy; he 
described Don Alfonso as a handsomer and greater man 
than his son Csesar, adding that his former wife was a 
sister-in-law of the Emperor. Ferrara was a fortunate 
State, and the house of Este an ancient one; a marriage 
train of great princes was shortly to come to Rome to take 
the bride away, and the Duchess of Urbino was to accom- 
pany it.* 

September 14th Csesar Borgia returned from Naples, 
where Federico, the last Aragonese king of that country, 
had been forced to yield to France. To his great satisfac- 
tion he found Lucretia prospective Duchess of Ferrara. 
On the fifteenth Ercole 's envoys, Saraceni and Bellingeri, 
appeared. Their object was to see that the Pope fulfilled 
his obligations promptly. The duke was a practical man; 
he did not trust him. He was unwilling to send the 

* Ed altre cose che egli disse per maggiormente magnificare il fatto. 
Matteo Canale to the Duke of Ferrara, Rome, September 11, 1501. 

188 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

bridal escort until he had the papal bull in his own hands. 
Lueretia supported the ambassador so zealously that Sara- 
ceni wrote his master that she already appeared to him to 
be a good Ferrarese.* She was present in the Vatican 
while Alexander carried on the negotiations. He some- 
times used Latin for the purpose of displaying his lin- 
guistic attainments; but on one occasion, out of regard for 
Lueretia, he ordered that Italian be used, which proves that 
his daughter was not a perfect mistress of the classic 
tongue. 

From this ambassador's despatches it appears that life 
in the Vatican was extremely agreeable. They sang, 
played and danced every evening. One of Alexander's 
greatest delights was to watch beautiful women dancing, 
and when Lueretia and the ladies of her court were so en- 
gaged he was careful to summon the Ferrarese ambassadors 
so that they might note his daughter's grace. One even- 
ing he remarked laughingly that ' ' they might see that the 
duchess was not lame."f 

The Pope never tired of passing the nights in this way, 
although Csesar, a strong man, was worn out by the ceaseless 
round of pleasure. When the latter consented to grant the 
ambassadors an audience, a favor which was not often be- 
stowed even on cardinals, he received them dressed, but 
lying in bed, which caused Saraceni to remark in his des- 
patch, " I feared that he was sick, for last evening he 
danced without intermission, which he will do again to- 
night at the Pope 's palace, where the illustrious duchess is 

* Quale mi pare gia essere optima Ferrarese. Despatch from Rome, 
September 15th. 

f Che voleva havessimo veduto che la Duchessa non era zoppa. 
Saraceni to Ercole, Rome, September 16th. 

189 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

going to sup."* Lueretia regarded it as a relief when, a 
few days later, the Pope went to Civitacastellana and 
Nepi. September 25th the ambassadors wrote to Ferrara, 
" The illustrious lady continues somewhat ailing, and is 
greatly fatigued; she is not, however, under the care of 
any physician, nor does she neglect her affairs, but grants 
audiences as usual. We think that this indisposition 
merely indicates that her Majesty should take better care 
of herself. The rest which she will have while his Holi- 
ness is away will do her good ; for whenever she is at the 
Pope's palace, the entire night, until two or three o'clock, 
is spent in dancing and at play, which fatigues her 
greatly, "f 

About this time occurred a disagreeable episode in con- 
nection with Giovanni Sforza, Lueretia 's divorced hus- 
band, which the Pope discussed with the Ferrarese am- 
bassadors. What they feared from him is revealed by the 
following despatch: 

Illustrious Prince and Master: As his Holiness the 
Pope desires to take all proper precautions to prevent the 
occurrence of anything that might be unpleasant to your 
Excellency, to Don Alfonso, and especially to the duchess, 
and also to himself, he has asked us to write your Excel- 
lency and request that you see to it that Lord Giovanni 
of Pesaro — who, his Holiness has been informed, is in 
Mantua — shall not be in Ferrara at the time of the mar- 
riage festivities. For, although his divorce from the above 
named illustrious lady was absolutely legal and according 
to prescribed form, as the records of the proceedings 
clearly show, he himself fully consenting to it, he may, 
nevertheless, still harbor some resentment. If he should 
be in Ferrara there would be a possibility of his seeing the 
lady, and her Excellency would therefore be compelled to 

* Rome, September 23d, Saraceni. 
f Despatch, September 25th. 

190 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

remain in concealment to escape disagreeable memories. 
He, therefore, requests your Excellency to prevent this 
possibility with your usual foresight. Thereupon his 
Holiness freely expressed his opinion of the Marchese of 
Mantua, and censured him severely because he of all the 
Italian princes was the only one who offered an asylum to 
outcasts, and especially to those who were under not only 
his own ban, but under that of his Most Christian Majesty. 
We endeavored, however, to excuse the marchese by saying 
that he, a high-minded man, could not close his domain to 
such as wished to come to him, especially when they were 
people of importance, and we used every argument to 
defend him. His Holiness, however, seemed displeased by 
our defense of the marchese. Your Excellency may, there- 
fore, make such arrangements as in your wisdom seem 
proper. And so we, in all humility, commend ourselves to 
your mercy. 

Rome, September 23, 1501.* 

As a result of Ercole's insistence, the question of the 
reduction of Ferrara's yearly tribute as a fief of the Holy 
See from four hundred ducats to one hundred florins was 
brought to a vote in the consistory, September 17th. It 
was expected that there would be violent opposition. Alex- 
ander explained what Ercole had done for Ferrara, his 
founding convents and churches, and his strengthening the 
city, thus making it a bulwark for the States of the 
Church. The cardinals were induced to favor the reduc- 
tion by the intervention of the Cardinal of Cosenza — one 
of Lucretia's creatures — and of Messer Troche, Caesar's 
confidant. They authorized the reduction and the Pope 
thanked them, especially praising the older cardinals — the 
younger, those of his own creation, having been more ob- 
stinate, f 

* To this Ercole replied in reassuring terms. Letter to his orators 
in Rome, September 18, 1501. 

f Despatch of Matteo Canale to Ercole, Rome, September 18, 1501. 

191 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

The same day he secured possession of the property he 
had wrested from the barons who had been placed under 
his ban August 20th. These domains, which embraced a 
large part of the Roman Campagna, were divided into two 
districts. The center of one was Nepi; that of the other 
Sermoneta — two cities which Lucretia, their former mis- 
tress, immediately renounced. Alexander made these 
duchies over to two children, Giovanni Borgia and Ro- 
drigo. At first the Pope ascribed the paternity of the for- 
mer child to his own son Caesar, but subsequently he pub- 
licly announced that he himself was its father. 

It is difficult to believe in such unexampled shameless- 
ness, but the legal documents to prove it are in existence. 
Both bulls are dated September 1, 1501, and are addressed 
to my beloved son, " the noble Giovanni de Borgia and 
Infante of Rome." In the former, Alexander states that 
Giovanni, a child of three years, was the natural son of 
Caesar Borgia, unmarried (which he was at the time of its 
birth), by a single woman. By apostolic authority he 
legitimated the child and bestowed upon it all the rights 
of a member of his family. In the second brief he refers 
to the proceedings in which the child had been declared to 
be Caesar's son, and says verbatim: " Since it is owing, not 
to the duke named (Caesar), but to us and to the un- 
married woman mentioned that you bear this stain (of ille- 
gitimate birth), which for good reasons we did not wish 
to state in the preceding instrument ; and in order that there 
may be no chance of your being caused annoyance in the 
future, we will see to it that that document shall never be 
declared null, and of our own free will, and by virtue of our 
authority, we confirm you, by these presents, in the full en- 
joyment of everything as provided in that instrument." 
Thereupon he renews the legitimation and announces that 

192 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

even if this his child, which had hitherto been declared 
to be Caesar's, shall in future, in any document or act be 
named and described as his (Caesar's), and even if he uses 
Caesar's arms, it shall in no way inure to the disadvan- 
tage of the child, and that all such acts shall have the 
same force which they would have had if the boy had 
been described not as Caesar's, but as his own, in the docu- 
ments referring to his legitimation.* 

It is worthy of note that both these documents were 
executed on one and the same day, but this is explained 
by the fact that the canon law prevented the Pope from 
acknowledging his own son. Alexander, therefore, extri- 
cated himself from the difficulty by telling a falsehood in 
the first bull. This lie made the legitimation of the child 
possible, and also conferred upon it the rights of succes- 
sion ; and this having once been embodied in a legal docu- 
ment, the Pope could, without injury to the child, tell the 
truth. 

September 1, 1501, Caesar was not in' Rome. Even a 
man of his stamp may have blushed for his father, when he 
thus made him the rival of this bastard for the possession 
of the property. Later, after Alexander's death, the little 
Giovanni Borgia passed for Caesar's son; he had, more- 
over, been described as such by the Pope in numerous 
briefs, f 

* Both bulls are in the archives of Modena. The first is a copy, 
the second an original. The lead seal is wanting, but the red and 
yellow silk by which it was attached is still preserved. I first discov- 
ered the facts in a manuscript in the Barberiniana in Kome. 

f Mandate of the Pope regarding certain taxes, dated July 21, 1502: 
Nobili Infanti Johanni Borgia, nostro secundum carnem nepoti ; and in 
another brief, dated June 12, 1502, Dil filii nobilis infantis Johannis 
Borgia ducis Nepesini delecti filii nobilis viri Caesaris Borgia de Fran- 
cia, etc. Archives of Modena. 

13 193 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

It is not known who was the mother of this mysteri- 
ous child. Burchard speaks of her merely as a " certain 
Roman." If Alexander, who described her as an " un- 
married woman," told the truth, Giulia Farnese could not 
have been its mother. 

It is possible, however, that the Pope's second state- 
ment likewise was untrue, and that the " Infante of 
Rome " was not his son, but was a natural child of Lu- 
cretia. The reader will remember that in March, 1498, 
the Ferrarese ambassador reported to Duke Ercole that it 
was rumored in Rome that the Pope's daughter had given 
birth to a child. This date agrees perfectly with the age 
of the Infante Giovanni in September, 1501. Both docu- 
ments regarding his legitimation, which are now preserved 
in the Este archives, were originally in Lucretia's chan- 
cellery. She may have taken them with her from Rome to 
Ferrara, or they may have been brought to her later. 
Eventually we shall find the Infante at her court in Fer- 
rara, where he was spoken of as her " brother." These 
facts suggest that the mysterious Giovanni Borgia was 
Lucretia's son — this, however, is only a hypothesis. The 
city of Nepi and thirty-six other estates were conferred 
upon the child as his dukedom. 

The second domain, including the duchy of Sermoneta 
and twenty-eight castles, was given to little Rodrigo, Lu- 
cretia's only son by Alfonso of Aragon. 

Under Lucretia's changed conditions, this child was an 
embarrassment to her, for she either was not allowed or 
did not dare to bring a child by her former husband to Fer- 
rara. For the sake of her character let us assume that she 
was compelled to leave her child among strangers. The 
order to do so, however, does not appear to have emanated 
from Ferrara, for, September 28th, the ambassador Gerardi 

194 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH ERCOLE 

gave his master an account of a call which he made on 
Madonna Lucretia, in which he said, " As her son was 
present, I asked her — in such a way that she could not 
mistake my meaning — what was to be done with him; to 
which she replied, ' He will remain in Rome, and will have 
an allowance of fifteen thousand ducats.' "* The little 
Rodrigo was, in truth, provided for in a princely manner. 
He was placed under the guardianship of two cardinals — 
the Patriarch of Alexandria and Francesco Borgia, Arch- 
bishop of Cosenza. He received the revenues of Sermoneta, 
and he also owned Biselli, his unfortunate father 's inherit- 
ance; for Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile, authorized 
their ambassador in Rome, Francesco de Roxas, January 7, 
1502, to confirm Rodrigo in the possession of the duchy of 
Biselli and the city of Quadrata. According to this act his 
title was Don Rodrigo Borgia of Aragon, Duke of Biselli 
and Sermoneta, and lord of Quadrata. f 

* Geradi to Ercole, Rome, September 28th. 

f Datum in civitate Hispali, January 7, 1502. Yo el rey. Archives 
of Modena. In Liber Arrendamentorum Terrarum ad Illmos Dnos 
Rodericum Bor. de Aragonia Sermoneti, et Jo. de bor., Nepesin. Duces 
infantes spectautium et alearq. scripturar. status eorundem tangentium. 
Biselli, 1502. 



195 



CHAPTER XXI 



THE EVE OF THE WEDDING 



Lucretia was impatient to leave Rome, which, she re- 
marked to the ambassador of Ferrara, seemed to her like 
a prison; the duke himself was no less anxious to con- 
clude the transaction. The preparation of the new bull of 
investiture, however, was delayed, and the cession of Cento 
and Pievi could not be effected without the consent of Car- 
dinal Giuliano della Rovere, Archbishop of Bologna, who 
was then living in France. Ercole, therefore, postponed 
despatching the bridal escort, although the approach of win- 
ter would make the journey, which was severe at any time, 
all the more difficult. Whenever Lucretia saw the Ferrarese 
ambassadors she asked them how soon the escort would 
come to fetch her. She herself endeavored to remove all 
obstacles. Although the cardinals trembled before the 
Pope and Caesar, they were reluctant to sign a bull which 
would lose Ferrara 's tribute to the Church. They were 
bitterly opposed to allowing the descendants of Alfonso 
and Lucretia, without limitation, to profit by a remission 
of the annual payment; they would suffer this privilege 
to be enjoyed for three generations at most. The duke 
addressed urgent letters to the cardinal and to Lucretia, 
who finally, in October, succeeded in arranging matters, 
thereby winning high praise from her father-in-law. Dur- 
ing the first half of October she and the duke kept up a 
lively correspondence, which shows that their mutual con- 

196 



THE EVE OF THE WEDDING 

fidence was increasing. It was plain that Ercole was be- 
ginning to look upon the unequal match with less dis- 
pleasure, as he discovered that his daughter-in-law pos- 
sessed greater sense than he had supposed. Her letters to 
him were filled with flattery, especially one she wrote when 
she heard he was sick, and Ercole thanked her for having 
written it with her own hand, which he regarded as special 
proof of her affection.* 

The ambassadors reported to him as follows: " When 
we informed the illustrious Duchess of your Excellency's 
illness, her Majesty displayed the greatest concern. She 
turned pale and stood for a moment bowed in thought. 
She regretted that she was not in Ferrara to take care of 
you herself. When the walls of the Vatican salon tumbled 
in, she nursed his Holiness for two weeks without resting, 
as the Pope would allow no one else to do anything for 
him."f 

Well might the illness of Lucretia's father-in-law 
frighten her. His death would have delayed, if not abso- 
lutely prevented, her marriage with Alfonso ; for up to the 
present time she had no proof that her prospective hus- 
band's opposition had been overcome. 

There are no letters written by either to the other at 
this time — a silence which is, to say the least, singular. 
Still more disturbing to Lucretia must have been the 
thought that her father himself might die, for his death 
would certainly set aside her betrothal to Alfonso. Shortly 
after Ercole 's illness Alexander fell sick. He had caught 
cold and lost a tooth. To prevent exaggerated reports 
reaching Ferrara, he had the duke's envoy summoned, and 
directed him to write his master that his indisposition was 

* Lucretia to Ercole, October 18th ; Ercole to Lucretia, October 23d. 
t Gerardo to Ercole, October 15, 1501. 

197 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

insignificant. " If the duke were here," said the Pope, 
" I would — even if my face is tied up — invite him to go 
and hunt wild boars." The ambassador remarked in his 
despatch that the Pope, if he valued his health, had better 
change his habits, and not leave the palace before day- 
break, and had better return before nightfall.* 

Ercole and the Pope received congratulations from all 
sides. Cardinals and ambassadors in their letters pro- 
claimed Lucretia's beauty and graciousness. The Spanish 
envoy in Rome praised her in extravagant terms, and Er- 
cole thanked him for his testimony regarding the virtues 
of his daughter-in-law. f 

Even the King of France displayed the liveliest pleas- 
ure at the event, which, he now discovered, would redound 
greatly to Ferrara's advantage. The Pope, beaming with 
joy, read the congratulations of the monarch and his con- 
sort to the consistory. Louis XII even condescended to 
address a letter to Madonna Lucretia, at the end of which 
were two words in his own hand. Alexander was so de- 
lighted thereby that he sent a copy of it to Ferrara. The 
court of Maximilian was the only one from which no con- 
gratulations were received. The emperor exhibited such 
displeasure that Ercole was worried, as the following letter 
to his plenipotentiaries in Rome shows : 

The Duke op Ferrara, etc. 

Our Well-Loved: We have given his Holiness, our 
Lord, no further information regarding the attitude of the 
illustrious Emperor of the Romans towards him since 
Messer Michele Remolines departed from here, for we had 
nothing definite to communicate. We have, however, been 
told by a trustworthy person with whom the king con- 
versed, that his Majesty was greatly displeased, and that 

* Ercole to Don Francesco de Roxas, October 24, 1501. 
f Gerardo Saraceni to Ercole, Rome, October 26, 1501. 

198 



THE EVE OF THE WEDDING 

he criticised his Holiness in unmeasured terms on account 
of the alliance which we have concluded with him, as he 
also did in letters addressed to us before the betrothal, in 
which he advised us not to enter into it, as you will 
learn from the copies of his letters which we send you with 
this. They were shown and read to his Holiness 's ambas- 
sador here. Although, so far as we ourselves are con- 
cerned, we did not attach much importance to his Majesty's 
attitude, as we followed the dictates of reason, and are 
daily becoming more convinced that it will prove advan- 
tageous for us; it nevertheless appears proper, in view of 
our relations with his Holiness, that he should be informed 
of our position. 

You will, therefore, tell him everything, and also let 
him see the copies, if you think best, but you must say to 
him in our name that he is not to ascribe their authorship 
to us, and that we have not sent you these copies because 
of any special importance that we attached to them. 

Ferrara, October 3, 1501. 

The duke now allowed nothing to shake his resolution. 
Early in October he selected the escort whose departure 
from Ferrara, he frankly stated, would depend upon the 
progress of his negotiations with the Pope. The constitu- 
tion of the bridal trains, both Roman and Ferrarese, was 
an important question, and is referred to in one of Ger- 
ardo's despatches. 



Illustrious Sir, etc. : To-day at six o 'clock Hector and 
I were alone with the Pope, having your letters of the 
twenty-sixth ultimo and of the first of the present month, 
and also a list of those who are to compose the escort. His 
Holiness was greatly pleased, the various persons being 
people of wealth and standing, as he could readily see, 
the rank and position of each being clearly indicated. I 
have learned from the best of sources that your Excellency 
has exceeded all the Pope's expectations. After we had 
conversed a while with his Holiness, the illustrious Duke 
of Romagna and Cardinal Orsini were summoned. There 

199 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

were also present Monsignor Elna, Monsignor Troche, and 
Messer Adriano. The Pope had the list read a second time, 
and again it was praised, especially by the duke, who said 
he was acquainted with several of the persons named. He 
kept the list, thanking me warmly when I gave it to him 
again, for he had returned it to me. 

We endeavored to get the list of those who are to come 
with the illustrious Duchess, but it has not yet been pre- 
pared. His Holiness said that there would not be many 
women among the number, as the ladies of Rome were not 
skilful horsewomen.* Hitherto the Duchess has had five 
or six young ladies at her court — four very young girls 
and three married women — who will remain with her 
Majesty. She has, however, been advised not to bring 
them, as many of the great ladies in Ferrara will offer her 
their services. She has also a certain Madonna Girolama, 
Cardinal Borgia's sister, who is married to one of the Or- 
sini. She and three of her women will accompany her. 
These are the only ladies of honor she has hitherto had. 
I have heard that she will endeavor to find others in Naples, 
but it is believed that she will be able to secure only a few, 
and that these will merely accompany her. The Duchess 
of Urbino has announced that she expects to come with a 
mounted escort of fifty persons. So far as the men are 
concerned, his Holiness said that there would not be many, 
as there were no Roman noblemen except the Orsini, and 
they generally were away from the city. Still, he hoped 
to be able to find sufficient, provided the Duke of Romagna 
did not take the field, there being a large number of nobles 
among his followers. His Holiness said that he had plenty 
of priests and scholars to send, but not such persons as 
were fit for a mission of this sort. However, the reti- 
nue furnished by your Majesty will serve for both, espe- 
cially as — according to his Holiness — it is better for the 
more numerous escort to be sent by the groom, and for 
the bride to come accompanied by a smaller number. Still 
I do not think her suite will number less than two hundred 
persons. The Pope is in doubt what route her Majesty 
will travel. He thinks she ought to go by way of Bologna, 
and he says that the Florentines likewise have invited her. 
Although his Holiness has reached no decision, the 

* Per essere queste romane salvatiche et male apte a cavallo. 
200 



THE EVE OF THE WEDDING 

Duchess has informed us that she would journey through 
the Marches, and the Pope has just concluded that she 
might do so. Perhaps he desires her to pass through the 
estates of the Duke of Romagna on her way to Bologna. 

Regarding your Majesty's wish that a cardinal accom- 
pany the Duchess, his Holiness said that it did not seem 
proper to him for a cardinal to leave Rome with her; but 
that he had written the Cardinal of Salerno, the Legate 
in the Marches, to go to the seat of the Duke in Romagna 
and wait there, and accompany the Duchess to Perrara to 
read mass at the wedding. He thought that the cardinal 
would do this, unless prevented by sickness, in which case 
his Holiness would provide another. 

When the Pope discovered, during this conversation, 
that we had so far been unable to secure an audience with 
the illustrious Duke, he showed great annoyance, declar- 
ing it was a mistake which could only injure his Majesty, 
and he added that the ambassadors of Rimini had been 
here two months without succeeding in speaking with him, 
as he was in the habit of turning day into night and night 
into day. He severely criticized his son's mode of living. 
On the other hand, he commended the illustrious Duchess, 
saying that she was always gracious, and granted audiences 
readily, and that whenever there was need she knew how 
to cajole. He lauded her highly, and stated that she had 
ruled Spoleto to the satisfaction of everybody, and he also 
said that her Majesty always knew how to carry her point 
— even with himself, the Pope. I think that his Holiness 
spoke in this way more for the purpose of saying good of 
her (which according to my opinion she deserved) than 
to avoid saying anything ill, even if there were occasion 
for it. Your Majesty's Ever devoted. 

Rome, October 6th. 

The Pope seldom allowed an opportunity to pass for 
praising his daughter's beauty and graciousness. He fre- 
quently compared her with the most famous women of 
Italy — the Marchioness of Mantua and the Duchess of 
Urbino. One day, while conversing with the ambassadors 
of Ferrara, he mentioned her age, saying that in October 

201 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

(1502) she would complete her twenty-second year, while 
Csesar would be twenty-six the same month.* 

The Pope was greatly pleased with the members of the 
bridal escort, for they all were either princes of the house 
of Este or prominent persons of Ferrara. He also ap- 
proved the selection of Annibale Bentivoglio, son of the 
Lord of Bologna, and said laughingly to the Ferrarese am- 
bassadors that, even if their master had chosen Turks to 
come to Rome for the bride, they would have been wel- 
come. 

The Florentines, owing to their fear of Caesar, sent am- 
bassadors to Lucretia to ask her to come by way of their 
city when she went to Ferrara; the Pope, however, was 
determined that she should make the journey through Ro- 
magna. According to an oppressive custom of the day, 
the people through whose country persons of quality trav- 
eled were required to provide for them, and, in order not 
to tax Romagna too heavily, it was decided that the Fer- 
rarese escort should come to Rome by way of Tuscany. 
The Republic of Florence firmly refused to entertain the 
escort all the time it was in its territory, although it was 
willing to care for it while in the city or to make a hand- 
some present, f 

In the meantime preparations were under way in Fer- 
rara for the wedding festivities. The Duke invited all the 
princes who were friendly to him to be present. He had 
even thought of the oration which was to be delivered in 
Ferrara when Lucretia was given to her husband. Dur- 
ing the Renaissance these orations were regarded as of 
the greatest importance, and he was anxious to secure a 

* Gerardo to Ercole, October 26, 1501. 

f The orator Manfredo Manfredi to Ercole, Florence, November 22 
and 24, 1501. 



THE EVE OF THE WEDDING 

speaker who could be depended upon to deliver a master- 
piece. Ercole had instructed his ambassadors in Rome 
to send him particulars regarding the house of Borgia for 
the orator to use in preparing his speech.* 

The ambassadors scrupulously carried out their in- 
structions, and wrote their sovereign as follows: 

Illustrious Prince and Master: We have spared no 
efforts to learn everything possible regarding the illustri- 
ous house of Borgia, as your Excellency commanded. We 
made a thorough investigation, and members of our suite 
here in Rome, not only the scholars but also those who we 
knew were loyal to you, did the same. Although we fin- 
ally succeeded in ascertaining that the house is one of the 
noblest and most ancient in Spain, we did not discover 
that its founders ever did anything very remarkable, per- 
haps because life in that country is quiet and uneventful 
— your Excellency knows that such is the case in Spain, 
especially in Valencia. 

Whatever there is worthy of note dates from the time 
of Calixtus, and, in fact, the deeds of Calixtus himself are 
those most worthy of comment; Platina, however, has 
given an account of his life, which, moreover, is well 
known to everybody. Whoever is to deliver the oration 
has ample material, therefore, from which to choose. We, 
illustrious Sir, have been able to learn nothing more re- 
garding this house than what you already know, and this 
concerns only the members of the family who have been 
Popes, and is derived chiefly from the audience speeches. 
In case we succeed in finding out anything more, we shall 
inform your Excellency, to whom we commend ourselves 
in all humility. 

Rome, October 18, 1501. 

When the descendant of the ancient house of Este read 
this terse despatch he must have smiled; its candor was 
so undiplomatic that it bordered on irony. The doughty 

* The duke to his ambassadors in Rome, October 7, 1501. 
203 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ambassadors, however, apparently did not go to the right 
sources, for if they had applied to the courtiers who were 
intimate with the Borgia — for example, the Porcaro — they 
would have obtained a genealogical tree showing a descent 
from the old kings of Aragon, if not from Hercules him- 
self. 

In the meantime the impatience of the Pope and Lu- 
cretia was steadily increasing, for the departure of the 
bridal escort was delayed, and the enemies of the Borgia 
were already beginning to make merry. The duke de- 
clared that he could not think of sending for Donna Lu- 
cretia until the bull of investiture was in his hands. He 
complained at the Pope's delay in fulfilling his promises. 
He also demanded that the part of the marriage portion 
which was to be paid in coin through banking houses in 
Venice, Bologna, and other cities be handed over on the 
bridal escort's entry into Rome, and threatened in case it 
was not paid in full to have his people return to Ferrara 
without the bride.* As it was impossible for him to bring 
about the immediate cession of Cento and Pievi, he asked 
from the Pope as a pledge that either the bishopric of 
Bologna be given his son Ippolito, or that his Holiness fur- 
nish a bond. He also demanded certain benefices for his 
natural son Don Giulio, and for his ambassador Gianluca 
Pozzi. Lucretia succeeded in securing the bishopric of 
Reggio for the latter and also a house in Rome for the 
Ferrarese envoy. 

Another important question was the dowry of jewels 
which Lucretia was to receive. During the Renaissance 
the passion for jewels amounted to a mania. Ercole sent 
word to his daughter-in-law that she must not dispose of 

* Ercole to Gerardo Saraceni, November 24, 1501. Other letters of 
like import were written by the duke to his plenipotentiaries. 

204 



THE EVE OF THE WEDDING 

her jewels, but must bring them with her ; he also said that 
he would send her a handsome ornament by the bridal 
escort, gallantly adding that, as she herself was a precious 
jewel, she deserved the most beautiful gems — even more 
magnificent ones than he and his own consort had pos- 
sessed; it is true he was not so wealthy as the Duke of 
Savoy, but, nevertheless, he was in a position to send her 
jewels no less beautiful than those given her by the duke.* 
The relations between Ercole and his daughter-in-law 
were as friendly as could be desired, for Lucretia exerted 
herself to secure the Pope's consent to his demands. His 
Holiness, however, was greatly annoyed by the duke's con- 
duct ; he sent urgent requests to him to despatch the escort 
to Rome, and assured him that the two castles in Romagna 
would be delivered over to him before Lucretia reached 
Ferrara, but in case she did arrive there first that every- 
thing she asked would be granted — his love for her was 
such that he even thought of paying her a visit in Fer- 
rara in the spring, f The Pope suspected, however, that 
the delay in sending the bridal escort was due to the 
machinations of Maximilian. Even as late as November the 
emperor had despatched his secretary, Agostino Semenza, 
to the duke to warn him not to send the escort to Rome, 
adding that he would show his gratitude to Ercole. Novem- 
ber 22d the duke wrote the imperial plenipotentiary a letter 
in which he stated that he had immediately sent a courier 
to his ambassador in Rome; it would soon be winter, and 
the time would therefore be unfavorable for bringing Lu- 
cretia ; if the Pope was willing, he would postpone the wed- 
ding, but he would not break off with him entirely. His 

* Ercole to Gerardo Saraceni in Rome, October 11, 1501. 
f Despatch of the Ferrarese ambassadors to Ercole, Rome, October 
31, 1501. 

205 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Majesty should remember that if he did this, the Pope 
would become his bitterest enemy, and would persecute him, 
and might even make war on him. It was, he stated, for 
the express purpose of avoiding this that he had consented 
to enter into an alliance with his Holiness. He, therefore, 
hoped that his Majesty would not expose him to this danger, 
but that, with his usual justice, he would appreciate his ex- 
cuses.* 

At the same time he instructed his ambassadors in Rome 
to inform the Pope of the emperor's threats, and to say to 
him that he was ready to fulfil his own obligations and also 
to urge his Holiness to have the bulls prepared at once, as 
further delay was dangerous. 

Alexander thereupon fell into a rage; he overwhelmed 
the ambassadors with reproaches, and called the duke a 
" tradesman." On December 1st Ercole announced to the 
emperor's messenger that he was unable longer to delay 
sending the bridal escort, for, if he did, it would mean a 
rupture with the Pope. The same day he wrote to his am- 
bassadors in Rome and complained of the use of the epithet 
" tradesman," which the Pope had applied to him.f He, 
however, reassured his Holiness by informing him that he 
had decided to despatch the bridal escort from Ferrara the 
ninth or tenth of December. J 

* II quale mal effecto volendo nui fugire, seamo eondescesi a contra- 
here la affinita cum soa Santita\ Responsum illmi Dni ducis Ferrarie 
D. Augustino Semetie Ces Mtis secretario. Ferrara, November 22, 1501. 

f Che il procedere del Duca era un procedere da mercatante. Ercole 
to Gerardo Saraceni, December 1, 1501. 

% Ercole to Alexander VI, December 1, 1501. 



206 




ERCOLE D'ESTE, DUKE OF FERRARA. 



CHAPTER XXII 

ARRIVAL AND RETURN OP THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

In the meantime Lueretia's trousseau was being pre- 
pared with an expense worthy of a king's daughter. On 
December 13, 1501, the agent in Rome of the Marchese 
Gonzaga wrote his master as follows: " The portion will 
consist of three hundred thousand ducats, not counting the 
presents which Madonna will receive from time to time. 
First a hundred thousand ducats are to be paid in money 
in instalments in Ferrara. Then there will be silverware 
to the value of three thousand ducats; jewels, fine linen, 
costly trappings for horses and mules, together worth 
another hundred thousand. In her wardrobe she has a 
trimmed dress worth more than fifteen thousand ducats, 
and two hundred costly shifts, some of which are worth a 
hundred ducats apiece; the sleeves alone of some of them 
cost thirty ducats each, being trimmed with gold fringe." 
Another person reported to the Marchesa Isabella that Lu- 
cretia had one dress worth twenty thousand ducats, and a 
hat valued at ten thousand. " It is said," so the Mantuan 
agent writes, " that more gold has been prepared and sold 
here in Naples in six months than has been used heretofore 
in two years. She brings her husband another hundred 
thousand ducats, the value of the castles (Cento and 
Pieve), and will also secure the remission of Ferrara 's 
tribute. The number of horses and persons the Pope will 
place at his daughter's disposal will amount to a thousand. 

207 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

There will be two hundred carriages — among them some of 
French make, if there is time — and with these will come 
the escort which is to take her. ' ' * 

The duke finally concluded to send the bridal escort, 
although the bulls were not ready for him. As he was 
anxious to make the marriage of his son with Lucretia an 
event of the greatest magnificence, he sent a cavalcade of 
more than fifteen hundred persons for her. At their head 
were Cardinal Ippolito and five other members of the 
ducal house; his brothers, Don Ferrante and Don Sigis- 
mondo ; also Niccolo Maria d 'Este, Bishop of Adria ; Melia- 
duse d'Este, Bishop of Comaechio; and Don Ercole, a 
nephew of the duke. In the escort were numerous promi- 
nent friends and kinsmen or vassals of the house of Fer- 
rara, lords of Correggio and Mirandola; the Counts Ran- 
gone of Modena ; one of the Pio of Carpi ; the Counts Bevi- 
lacqua, Roverella, Sagrato, Strozzi of Ferrara, Annibale 
Bentivoglio of Bologna, and many others. 

These gentlemen, magnificently clad, and with heavy 
gold chains about their necks, mounted on beautiful horses, 
left Ferrara December 9th, with thirteen trumpeters and 
eight fifes at their head ; and thus this wedding cavalcade, 
led by a worldly cardinal, rode noisily forth upon their 
journey. In our time such an aggregation might easily be 
mistaken for a troop of trick riders. Nowhere did this 
brave company of knights pay their reckoning; in the 
domain of Ferrara they lived on the duke ; in other words, 
at the expense of his subjects. In the lands of other lords 
they did the same, and in the territory of the Church the 
cities they visited were required to provide for them. 

In spite of the luxury of the Renaissance, traveling was 
at that time veiy disagreeable ; everywhere in Europe it was 
* Despatch of Giovanni Lucido, in the archives of Mantua. 
208 



ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

as difficult then as it is now in the Orient. Great lords and 
ladies, who to-day flit across the country in comfortable 
railway carriages, traveled in the sixteenth century, even 
in the most civilized states of Europe, mounted on horses 
or mules, or slowly in sedan-chairs, exposed to all the in- 
clemencies of wind and weather, and unpaved roads. The 
cavalcade was thirteen days on the way from Ferrara to 
Rome — a journey which can now be made in a few hours. 

Finally, on December 22d, it reached Monterosi, a 
wretched castle fifteen miles from Rome. All were in a 
deplorable condition, wet to the skin by winter rains, and 
covered with mud ; and men and horses completely tired out. 
From this place the cardinal sent a messenger with a 
herald to Rome to receive the Pope's commands. Answer 
was brought that they were to enter by the Porta del 
Popolo. 

The entrance of the Ferrarese into Rome was the most 
theatrical event that occurred during the reign of Alex- 
ander VI. Processions were the favorite spectacles of the 
Middle Ages; State, Church, and society displayed their 
wealth and power in magnificent cavalcades. The horse 
was symbolic of the world's strength and magnificence, 
but with the disappearance of knighthood it lost its 
place in the history of civilization. How the love of form 
and color of the people of Italy — the home of processions 
— has changed was shown in Rome, July 2, 1871, when 
Victor Emmanuel entered his new capital. Had this epi- 
sode — one of the weightiest in the whole history of Italy 
— occurred during the Renaissance, it would have been 
made the occasion of a magnificent triumph. The entrance 
into Rome of the first king of united Italy was made, how- 
ever, in a few dust-covered carriages, which conveyed 
the monarch and his court from the railway station to 
14 209 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

their lodgings; yet in this bourgeois simplicity there was 
really more moral greatness than in any of the triumphs 
of the Csesars. That the love of parades which existed 
in the Renaissance has died out is, perhaps, to be regretted, 
for occasions still arise when they are necessary. 

Alexander's prestige would certainly have suffered if, 
on the occasion of a family function of such importance, 
he had failed to offer the people as evidence of his power a 
brilliant spectacle of some sort. The very fact that Adrian 
VI did not understand and appreciate this requirement 
of the Renaissance made him the butt of the Romans. 

At ten o'clock on the morning of December 23d the 
Ferrarese reached the Ponte Molle, where breakfast was 
served in a nearby villa. The appearance of this neighbor- 
hood must at that time have been different from what it is 
to-day. There were casinos and wine houses on the slopes 
of Monte Mario — whose summit was occupied even at that 
time by a villa belonging to the Mellini — and on the hills 
beyond the Flaminian Way. Nicholas V had restored the 
bridge over the Tiber, and also begun a tower nearby, which 
Calixtus III completed. Between the Ponte Molle and the 
Porta del Popolo there was then, — just as there is now, — a 
wretched suburb. 

At the bridge crossing the Tiber they found a wedding 
escort composed of the senators of Rome, the governor of 
the city, and the captain of police, accompanied by two 
thousand men, some on foot and some mounted. Half a 
bowshot from the gate the cavalcade met Caesar's suite. 
First came six pages, then a hundred mounted noblemen, 
followed by two hundred Swiss clothed in black and yel- 
low velvet with the arms of the Pope, birettas on their 
heads, and bearing halberds. Behind them rode the Duke 
of Romagna with the ambassador of France at his side, 

210 



£& 




ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

who wore a French costume and a golden sash. After 
greeting each other mid the blare of trumpets, the gentle- 
men dismounted from their horses. Caesar embraced Car- 
dinal Ippolito and rode at his side as far as the city gate. If 
Valentino 's following numbered four thousand and the city 
officials two thousand more, it is difficult to conceive, taking 
the spectators also into account, how so large a number of 
people could congregate before the Porta del Popolo. The 
rows of houses which now extend from this gate could not 
have been in existence then, and the space occupied by the 
Villa Borghese must have been vacant. At the gate the 
cavalcade was met by nineteen cardinals, each accom- 
panied by two hundred persons. The reception here, 
owing to the oration, required over two hours, conse- 
quently it was evening when it was over. 

Finally, to the din of trumpets, fifes, and horns, the 
cavalcade set out over the Corso, across the Campo di Fiore, 
for the Vatican, where it was saluted from Castle S. 
Angelo. Alexander stood at a window of the palace to 
see the procession which marked the fulfilment of the 
dearest wish of his house. His chamberlain met the Fer- 
rarese at the steps of the palace and conducted them to 
his Holiness, who, accompanied by twelve cardinals, ad- 
vanced to meet them. They kissed his feet, and he raised 
them up and embraced them. A few moments were spent 
in animated conversation, after which Caesar led the 
princes to his sister. Leaning on the arm of an elderly 
cavalier dressed in black velvet, with a golden chain about 
his neck, Lucretia went as far as the entrance of her 
palace to greet them. According to the prearranged cere- 
monial she did not kiss her brothers-in-law, but merely 
bowed to them, following the French custom. She wore 
a dress of some white material embroidered in gold, over 

211 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

which there was a garment of dark brown velvet trimmed 
with sable. The sleeves were of white and gold brocade, 
tight, and barred in the Spanish fashion. Her head-dress 
was of a green gauze, with a fine gold band and two rows of 
pearls. About her neck was a heavy chain of pearls with 
a ruby pendant. Refreshments were served, and Lucretia 
distributed small gifts — the work of Eoman jewelers — 
among those present. The princes departed highly 
pleased with their reception. " This much I know," wrote 
El Prete, " that the eyes of Cardinal Ippolito sparkled, 
as much as to say, She is an enchanting and exceedingly 
gracious lady." 

The cardinal likewise wrote the same evening to his 
sister Isabella of Mantua to satisfy her curiosity regard- 
ing Lucretia 's costume. Dress was then an important 
matter in the eyes of a court; in fact there never was a 
time when women's costumes were richer and more care- 
fully studied than they were during the Renaissance. The 
Marchioness had sent an agent to Rome apparently for the 
sole purpose of giving her an account of the bridal fes- 
tivities, and she had directed him to pay special attention 
to the dresses. El Prete carried out his instructions as 
conscientiously as a reporter for a daily paper would now 
do.* From his description an artist could paint a good 
portrait of the bride. 

The same evening the Ferrarese ambassadors paid their 
official visit to Donna Lucretia, and they promptly wrote 
the duke regarding the impression his daughter-in-law had 
made upon them. 

Illustrious Master : To-day after supper Don Gerardo 
Saraceni and I betook ourselves to the illustrious Madonna 

* The report of this agent, who signs himself El Prete, te preserved 
in the archives of Mantua. 

212 



AEEIVAL OF THE BEIDAL ESCORT 

Lucretia, to pay our respects in the name of your Excel- 
lency and his Majesty Don Alfonso. We had a long con- 
versation regarding various matters. She is a most intel- 
ligent and lovely, and also exceedingly gracious lady. Your 
Excellency and the illustrious Don Alfonso — so we were 
led to conclude — will be highly pleased with her. Besides 
being extremely graceful in every way, she is modest, lov- 
able, and decorous. Moreover, she is a devout and God- 
fearing Christian. To-morrow she is going to confession, 
and during Christmas week she will receive the communion. 
She is very beautiful, but her charm of manner is still 
more striking. In short, her character is such that it is 
impossible to suspect anything " sinister " of her; but, on 
the contrary, we look for only the best. It seems to be our 
duty to tell you the exact truth in this letter. I commend 
myself to your Highness 's merciful benevolence. Rome, 
December 23, 1501, the sixth hour of the night. 
Your Excellency's servant, 

Johannes Lucas. 

Pozzi's letter shows how anxious were the duke and 
his son, even up to the last. It must have been a humilia- 
tion for both of them to have to confide their suspicions to 
their ambassador in Rome, and to ask him to find out what 
he could regarding the character of a lady who was to be 
the future Duchess of Ferrara. The very phrase in Pozzi 's 
letter that there was nothing " sinister " to be suspected 
of Lucretia shows how black were the rumors that cir- 
culated regarding her. His testimony, therefore, is all the 
more valuable, and it is one of the most important docu- 
ments for forming a judgment of Lucretia 's character. 
Had she been afforded a chance to read it, her mortifica- 
tion would, no doubt, have outweighed her satisfaction.* 

* The Farrarese agent, Bartolomeo Bresciani, who had been sent to 
Rome on matters connected with the Church, is no less complimentary. 
He says, la Excell. V. remagnera molto ben satisfacto da questa Illma 
Madona per essere dotada de tanti costumi et buntade. (To the duke, 
October 30, 1501.) He informed him also that Lucretia often conversed 

213 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

The Ferrarese princes took up their abode in the Vati- 
can; other gentlemen occupied the Belvedere, while the 
majority were provided for by the citizens, who were com- 
pelled to entertain them. At that time the popes handled 
their private matters just as if they were affairs of state, 
and met expenses by taxing the court officials, who, in spite 
of this, made a good living, and even grew rich by the 
Pope's mercy. The merchants likewise were required to 
bear a part of the expense of these ecclesiastical functions. 
Many of the officials grumbled over entertaining the Fer- 
rarese, and provided for them so badly that the Pope was 
compelled to interfere.* 

During the Christmas festivities the Pope read mass in 
S. Peter's. The princes were present, and the duke's 
ambassador described Alexander's magnificent and also 
" saintly " bearing in terms more fitting to depict the ap- 
pearance of an accomplished actor, f 

The Pope now gave orders for the carnival to begin, 
and there were daily banquets and festivities in the Vati- 
can. 

El Prete has left a naive account of an evening's en- 
tertainment in Lucretia's palace, in which he gives us a 
vivid picture of the customs of the day. " The illustrious 
Madonna," so wrote the reporter, " appears in public but 
little, because she is busy preparing for her departure. 
Sunday evening, S. Stephen's Day, December 26th, I went 
unexpectedly to her residence. Her Majesty was in her 
chamber, seated by the bed. In a corner of the room 
were about twenty Roman women dressed a la romanesca, 

with a saintly person who had been secluded in the Vatican for eight 
years. 

* Despatch of Gianluca Pozzi to Ercole, Rome, December 25, 1501. 

f Pozzi to Ercole, Rome, December 25, 1501. 

214 



AKRIVAL OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

' wearing certain cloths on their heads '; the ladies of her 
court, to the number of ten, were also present. A noble- 
man from Valencia and a lady of the court, Niccola, led 
the dance. They were followed by Don Ferrante and Ma- 
donna, who danced with extreme grace and animation. 
She wore a camorra of black velvet with gold borders and 
black sleeves ; the cuffs were tight ; the sleeves were slashed 
at the shoulders; her breast was covered up to the neck 
with a veil made of gold thread. About her neck she wore 
a string of pearls, and on her head a green net and a chain 
of rubies. She had an overskirt of black velvet trimmed 
with fur, colored, and very beautiful. The trousseaux of 
her ladies-in-waiting are not yet ready. Two or three of 
the women are pretty ; one, Catalina, a native of Valencia, 
dances well, and another, Angela, is charming. Without 
telling her, I picked her out as my favorite. Yesterday 
evening (28th) the cardinal, the duke, and Don Ferrante 
walked about the city masked, and afterwards we went to 
the duchess 's house, where there was dancing. Everywhere 
in Rome, from morning till night, one sees nothing but 
courtesans wearing masks, for after the clock strikes the 
twenty-fourth hour they are not permitted to show them- 
selves abroad. ' ' 

Although the marriage had been performed in Ferrara 
by proxy, Alexander wished the service to be said again 
in Rome. To prevent repetition, the ceremony in Fer- 
rara had been performed only vis volo, the exchange of 
rings having been deferred. 

On the evening of December 30th, the Ferrarese 
escorted Madonna Lucretia to the Vatican. When Al- 
fonso's bride left her palace she was accompanied by her 
entire court and fifty maids of honor. She was dressed in 
gold brocade and crimson velvet trimmed with ermine; 

215 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

the sleeves of her gown reached to the floor ; her train was 
borne by some of her ladies; her golden hair was confined 
by a black ribbon, and about her neck she wore a string of 
pearls with a pendant consisting of an emerald, a ruby, 
and a large pearl. 

Don Ferrante and Sigismondo led her by the hands; 
when the train set forth a body of musicians stationed on 
the steps of S. Peter's began to play. The Pope, on the 
throne in the Sala Paolina, surrounded by thirteen car- 
dinals and his son Cassar, awaited her. Among the for- 
eign representatives present were the ambassadors of 
France, Spain, and Venice; the German envoy was absent. 
The ceremony began with the reading of the mandate of 
the Duke of Ferrara, after which the Bishop of Adria de- 
livered the wedding sermon, which the Pope, however, com- 
manded to be cut short.* A table was placed before him, 
and by it stood Don Ferrante — as his brother's represen- 
tative — and Donna Lucretia. Ferrante addressed the for- 
mal question to her, and on her answering in the affirma- 
tive, he placed the ring on her finger with the following 
words: " This ring, illustrious Donna Lucretia, the noble 
Don Alfonso sends thee of his own free will, and in his 
name I give it thee "; whereupon she replied, " And I, of 
my own free will, thus accept it. ' ' 

The performance of the ceremony was attested by a 
notary. Then followed the presentation of the jewels to 
Lucretia by Cardinal Ippolito. The duke, who sent her a 
costly present worth no less than seventy thousand ducats, 
attached special weight to the manner in which it was to 
be given her. On December 21st he wrote his son that in 
presenting the jewels he should use certain words which his 

* Fu necessario che la abreviasse, Gianluca and Gerardo to Ercole, 
Rome, December 30, 1501. 

216 



ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

ambassador Pozzi would give him, and he was told that 
this was done as a precautionary measure, so that, in case 
Donna Lucretia should prove untrue to Alfonso, the jewels 
would not be lost.* Until the very last, the duke handled 
the Borgias with the misgivings of a man who feared he 
might be cheated. On December 30th Pozzi wrote him: 
" There is a document regarding this marriage which 
simply states that Donna Lucretia will be given, for a 
present, the bridal ring, but nothing is said of any other 
gift. Your Excellency's intention, therefore, was carried 
out exactly. There was no mention of any present, and 
your Excellency need have no anxiety." 

Ippolito performed his part so gracefully that the 
Pope told him he had heightened the beauty of the present. 
The jewels were in a small box which the cardinal first 
placed before the Pope and then opened. One of the 
keepers of the jewels from Ferrara helped him to display 
the gems to the best advantage. The Pope took the box 
in his own hand and showed it to his daughter. There 
were chains, rings, earrings, and precious stones beauti- 
fully set. Especially magnificent was a string of pearls — 
Lucretia 's favorite gem. Ippolito also presented his sister- 
in-law with his gifts, among which were four beautifully 
chased crosses. The cardinals sent similar presents. 

After this the guests went to the windows of the salon 
to watch the games in the Piazza of S. Peter; these con- 
sisted of races and a mimic battle for a ship. Eight noble- 
men defended the vessel against an equal number of op- 

* E cio nello seopo, che se mancasse essa Duchessa verso lo Illmo 
Don Alfonso non fosse piu obbligato di quanto voleva esserlo circa dette 
gioje. Ercole to Cardinal Ippolito, December 21, 1501. There is a 
letter of the same date regarding the subject, written by Ercole to Gian- 
luca Pozzi. 

217 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ponents. They fought with sharp weapons, and five people 
were wounded. 

This over, the company repaired to the Chamber of the 
Parrots, where the Pope took his position upon the throne, 
with the cardinals on his left, and Ippolito, Donna Lu- 
cretia, and Caesar on his right. El Prete says : ' ' Alexander 
asked Caesar to lead the dance with Donna Lucretia, which 
he did very gracefully. His Holiness was in continual 
laughter. The ladies of the court danced in couples, and 
extremely well. The dance, which lasted more than an 
hour, was followed by the comedies. The first was not fin- 
ished, as it was too long; the second, which was in Latin 
verse, and in which a shepherd and several children ap- 
peared, was very beautiful, but I have forgotten what it 
represented. When the comedies were finished all de- 
parted except his Holiness, the bride, and her brother-in- 
law. In the evening the Pope gave the wedding banquet, 
but of this I am unable to send any account, as it was a 
family affair." 

The festivities continued for days, and all Rome re- 
sounded with the noise of the carnival. During the clos- 
ing days of the year Cardinal Sanseverino and Caesar 
presented some plays. The one given by Caesar was an 
eclogue, with rustic scenery, in which the shepherd sang 
the praises of the young pair, and of Duke Ercole, and the 
Pope as Ferrara's protector.* 

The first day of the new year (1502) was celebrated 
with great pomp. The various quarters of Rome organ- 
ized a parade in which were thirteen floats led by the gon- 
falonier of the city and the magistrates, which passed from 
the Piazza Navona to the Vatican, accompanied by the 
strains of music. The first car represented the triumph of 
* Pozzi to Ercole, January 1, 1502. Archives of Modena. 
218 



ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

Hercules, another Julius Caesar, and others various Roman 
heroes. They stopped before the Vatican to enable the 
Pope and his guests to admire the spectacle from the 
windows. Poems in honor of the young couple were de- 
claimed, and four hours were thus passed. 

Then followed comedies in the Chamber of the Parrots. 
Subsequently a moresca or ballet was performed in the 
" sala of the Pope," whose walls were decorated with 
beautiful tapestries which had been executed by order of 
Innocent VIII. Here was erected a low stage decorated 
with foliage and illuminated by torches. The lookers-on 
took their places on benches and on the floor, as they pre- 
ferred. After a short eclogue, a jongleur dressed as a 
woman danced the moresca to the accompaniment of tam- 
borines, and Csesar also took part in it, and was recognized 
in spite of his disguise. Trumpets announced a second 
performance. A tree appeared upon whose top was a 
Genius who recited verses; these over, he dropped down 
the ends of nine silk ribbons which were taken by nine 
maskers who danced a ballet about the tree. This moresca 
was loudly applauded. In conclusion the Pope asked his 
daughter to dance, which she did with one of her women, 
a native of Valencia, and they were followed by all the 
men and women who had taken part in the ballet.* 

Comedies and moresche were in great favor on festal 
occasions. The poets of Rome, the Porcaro, the Mellini, 
Inghirami, and Evangelista Maddaleni, probably composed 
these pieces, and they may also have taken part in 
them, for it was many years since Rome had been given 
such a brilliant opportunity to show her progress in his- 
trionics. Lucretia was showered with sonnets and epitha- 
lamia. It is strange that not one of these has been pre- 
* El Prete to Isabella, Rome, January 2, 1502. 
219 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

served, and also that not a single Roman poet of the day 
is mentioned as the author of any of these comedies. On 
January 2d a bull fight was given in the Piazza of S. Peter's. 
The Spanish bull fight was introduced into Italy in the 
fourteenth century, but not until the fifteenth had it be- 
come general. The Aragonese brought it to Naples, and 
the Borgias to Rome. Hitherto the only thing of the sort 
which had been seen was the bull-baiting in the Piazza 
Navona or on the Testaccio. Caesar was fond of display- 
ing his agility and strength in this barbarous sport. Dur- 
ing the jubilee year he excited the wonder of all Rome by 
decapitating a bull with a single stroke in one of these con- 
tests. On January 2d he and nine other Spaniards, who 
probably were professional matadors, entered the enclosure 
with two loose bulls, where he mounted his horse and with 
his lance attacked the more ferocious one single-handed; 
then he dismounted, and with the other Spaniards con- 
tinued to goad the animals. After this heroic performance 
the duke left the arena to the matadors. Ten bulls and one 
buffalo were slaughtered. 

In the evening the Mencechmi of Plautus and other 
pieces were produced in which was celebrated the majesty 
of Caesar and Ercole. The Ferrarese ambassador sent his 
master an account of these performances which is a valu- 
able picture of the day. 

This evening the Mencechmi was recited in the Pope's 
room, and the Slave, the Parasite, the Pandor, and the 
wife of Menaechmus performed their parts well. The 
Menaechmi themselves, however, played badly. They had 
no masks, and there was no scenery, for the room was too 
small. In the scene where Menaechmus, seized by com- 
mand of his father-in-law, who thinks he is mad, exclaims 
that he is being subjected to force, he added : ' ' This passes 
understanding; for Caesar is mighty, Zeus merciful, and 
Hercules kind." 

220 



ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT 

Before the performance of this comedy the following 
play was given : first appeared a boy in woman 's clothes 
who represented Virtue, and another in the character of 
Fortune. They began to banter each other as to which 
was the mightier, whereupon Fame suddenly appeared, 
standing on a globe which rested on a float, upon which 
were the words, ' ' Gloria Domus Borgia?. ' ' Fame, who also 
called himself Light, awarded Virtue the prize over For- 
tune, saying that Caesar and Ercole by Virtue had over- 
come Fortune; thereupon he described a number of the 
heroic deeds performed by the illustrious Duke of Ro- 
magna. Hercules with the lion's skin and club appeared, 
and Juno sent Fortune to attack him. Hercules, however, 
overcame Fortune, seized her and chained her; whereupon 
Juno begged him to free her, and he, gracious and gener- 
ous, consented to grant Juno's request on the condition 
that she would never do anything which might injure the 
house of Ercole or that of Cassar Borgia. To this she 
agreed, and, in addition, she promised to bless the union 
of the two houses. 

Then Roma entered upon another float. She com- 
plained that Alexander, who occupied Jupiter's place, had 
been unjust to her in permitting the illustrious Donna Lu- 
cretia to go away ; she praised the duchess highly, and said 
that she was the refuge of all Rome. Then came a per- 
sonification of Ferrara — but not on a float — and said that 
Lucretia was not going to take up her abode in an un- 
worthy city, and that Rome would not lose her. Mercury 
followed, having been sent by the gods to reconcile Rome 
and Ferrara, as it was in accordance with their wish that 
Donna Lucretia was going to the latter city. Then he in- 
vited Ferrara to take a seat by his side in the place of 
honor on the float. 

All this was accompanied by descriptions in polished 
hexameters, which celebrated the alliance of Csesar and 
Ercole, and predicted that together they would overthrow 
all the latter 's enemies. If this prophecy is realized, the 
marriage will result greatly to our advantage. So we com- 
mend ourselves to your Excellency's mercy. 
Your Highness 's servants, 
Johann Lucas and Gerardus Saracenus. 

January 2, 1502. 

221 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Finally the date set for Lucretia to leave — January 
6th — arrived. The Pope was determined that her depart- 
ure should be attended by a magnificent display ; she should 
traverse Italy like a queen. A cardinal was to accompany 
her as legate, Francesco Borgia, Archbishop of Cosenza, 
having been chosen for this purpose. To Lucretia he 
owed his cardinalate, and he was a most devoted retainer; 
" an elderly man, a worthy person of the house of Bor- 
gia," so Pozzi wrote to Ferrara. Madonna was also ac- 
companied by the bishops of Carniola, Venosa, and Orte. 

Alexander endeavored to persuade many of the nobles 
of Rome, men and women, to accompany Lucretia, and he 
succeeded in inducing a large number to do so. The city of 
Rome appointed four special envoys, who were to remain 
in Ferrara as long as the festivities lasted — Stefano del 
Bufalo, Antonio Paoluzzo, Giacomo Frangipane, and Do- 
menico Massimi. The Roman nobility selected for the same 
purpose Francesco Colonna of Palestrina and Giuliano, 
Count of Anguillara. There were also Ranuccio Farnese 
of Matelica and Don Giulio Raimondo Borgia, the Pope's 
nephew, and captain of the papal watch, together with eight 
other gentlemen belonging to the lesser nobility of Rome. 

Caesar equipped at his own expense an escort of two 
hundred cavaliers, with musicians and buffoons to enter- 
tain his sister on the way. This cavalcade, which was com- 
posed of Spaniards, Frenchmen, Romans, and Italians 
from various provinces, was joined later by two famous 
men — Ivo dAllegre and Don Ugo Moncada. Among the 
Romans were the Chevaliers Orsini; Piero Santa Croce; 
Giangiorgio Cesarini, a brother of Cardinal Giuliano ; and 
other gentlemen, members of the Alberini, Sanguigni, 
Crescenzi, and Mancini families. 

Lucretia herself had a retinue of a hundred and eighty 
222 



THE DEPARTURE 

people. In the list — which is still preserved — are the 
names of many of her maids of honor; her first lady-in- 
waiting was Angela Borgia, una damigella elegantisima, as 
one of the chroniclers of Ferrara describes her, who is said 
to have been a very beautiful woman, and who was the sub- 
ject of some verses by the Roman poet Diomede Guidalotto. 
She was also accompanied by her sister Donna Girolama, 
consort of the youthful Don Fabio Orsini. Madonna 
Adriana Orsini, another woman named Adriana, the wife 
of Don Francesco Colonna, and another lady of the house 
of Orsini, whose name is not given, also accompanied 
Lucretia. It is not likely, however, that the last was Giulia 
Farnese. 

A number of vehicles which the Pope had ordered built 
in Rome and a hundred and fifty mules bore Lucretia 's 
trousseau. Some of this baggage was sent on ahead. The 
duchess took everything that the Pope permitted her to 
remove. He refused to have an inventory made, as Beneim- 
bene the notary had advised. " I desire," so he stated 
to the Ferrarese ambassadors, ' ' that the duchess shall do 
with her property as she wishes." He had also given her 
nine thousand ducats to clothe herself and her servants, 
and also a beautiful sedan-chair of French make, in which 
the Duchess of Urbino was to have a seat by her side when 
she joined the cavalcade.* 

While Alexander was praising his daughter's gracious- 
ness and modesty, he expressed the wish that her father- 
in-law would provide her with no courtiers and ladies-in- 
waiting but those whose character was above question. 
She had told him — so the ambassadors wrote their master 
— that she would never give his Holiness cause to be 
ashamed of her, and " according to our view he certainly 
* Pozzi to Ereole, Rome, December 28, 1501. 
223 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

never will have occasion, for the longer we are with her, 
and the closer we examine her life, the higher is our opinion 
of her goodness, her decorum, and modesty. We see that 
life in her palace is not only Christian, but also religious. ' '* 
Even Cardinal Ferrante Ferrari ventured to write Ercole 
— whose servant he had been — a letter in which he spoke of 
the duke's daughter-in-law in unctuous terms and praised 
her character to the skies. \ 

January 5th the balance of the wedding portion was 
paid to the Ferrarese ambassadors in cash, whereupon they 
reported to the duke that everything had been arranged, 
that his daughter-in-law would bring the bull with her, 
and that the cavalcade was ready to start. J 

Alexander had decided at what towns they should stop 
on their long journey. They were as follows : Castelnovo, 
Civitacastellana, Narni, Terni, Spoleto, and Foligno; it 
was expected the Duke Guidobaldo or his wife would meet 
Lucretia at the last-named place and accompany her to 
Urbino. Thence they were to pass through Caesar's estates, 
going by way of Pesaro, Rimini, Cesena, Forli, Faenza, 
and Imola to Bologna, and from that city to Ferrara by 
way of the Po. 

As the places through which they passed would be sub- 
jected to very great expense if the entire cavalcade 
stopped, the retinue was sometimes divided, each part 
taking a different route. The Pope's brief to the Priors of 
Nepi shows to what imposition the people were subjected. 

Dear Sons: Greeting and the Apostolic Blessing. As 
our dearly beloved daughter in Christ, the noble lady and 

* Pozzi and Saraeeni, Rome, December 28, 1501. 
\ Rome, January 9, 1502. 

\ La Illraa Madama Lucrezia porta tutte le bolle piene et in optima 
forma. Pozzi and Gerardo to Ercole, Rome, January 6, 1502. 

224 



THE DEPASTURE 

Duchess Lucretia de Borgia, who is to leave here next 
Monday to join her husband Alfonso, the beloved son and 
first born of the Duke of Ferrara, with a large escort of 
nobles, two hundred horsemen will pass through your dis- 
trict; therefore we wish and command you, if you value 
our favor and desire to avoid our displeasure, to provide 
for the company mentioned above for a day and two 
nights, the time they will spend with you. By so doing 
you will receive from us all due approbation. Given in 
Rome, under the Apostolic seal, December 28, 1501, in the 
tenth year of our Pontificate.* 

Numerous other places had similar experiences. In 
every city in which the cavalcade stopped, and in some of 
those where they merely rested for a short time, Lucretia, 
in accordance with the Pope's commands, was honored 
with triumphal arches, illuminations, and processions — 
all the expense of which was borne by the commune. 

January 6th Lucretia, leaving her child Rodrigo, her 
brother Caesar, and her parents, departed from Rome. 
Probably only two persons were present when she took 
leave of Vannozza. None of those who describe the fes- 
tivities in the Vatican mention this woman by name. 

The Chamber of the Parrots was the scene of her leave- 
taking with her father. She remained with the Pope some 
time, departing on Cassar's entrance. As she was leaving, 
Alexander called after her in a loud voice, telling her to 
be of good cheer, and to write him whenever she wanted 
anything, adding that he would do more for her now that 
she had gone from him than he had ever done for her 
while she was in Rome. Then he went from place to place 

* In the archives of the municipality of Nepi, where I copied the 
brief from the records. There is a similar letter in the same form and of 
the same date, addressed to the commune of Trevi, in the city archives of 
that place. The latter is printed in Tullio Dandolo's Arte Christiana — 
Passeggiate nell' Umbria, 1866, p. 358. 
15 225 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

and watched her until she and her retinue were lost to 
sight.* 

Lucretia set forth from Rome at three o'clock in the 
afternoon. All the cardinals, ambassadors, and magis- 
trates of the city accompanied her as far as the Porta del 
Popolo. She was mounted on a white jennet caparisoned 
with gold, and she wore a riding habit of red silk and 
ermine, and a hat trimmed with feathers. She was sur- 
rounded by more than a thousand persons. By her side 
were the princes of Ferrara and the Cardinal of Cosenza. 
Her brother Caesar accompanied her a short distance, and 
then returned to the Vatican with Cardinal Ippolito. 

Thus Lucretia Borgia departed, leaving Rome and a 
terrible past behind her forever. 

* Beltrando Costabili to Ercole, Rome, January 6, 1 502. 



226 



BOOK THE SECOND 
LUCRETIA IN FERRARA 



CHAPTER I 

lucretia's journey to ferrara 

Although the escort which was taking the Duchess Lu- 
cretia to Ferrara traveled by easy stages, the journey was 
fatiguing; for the roads, especially in winter, were bad, 
and the weather, even in the vicinity of Rome, was fre- 
quently wet and cold. 

Not until the seventh day did they reach Foligno. As 
the report which the Ferrarese ambassadors sent their 
lord from that place contains a vivid description of the 
journey, we quote it at length: 

Illustrious and Honored Master: Although we 
wrote your Excellency from Narni that we would travel 
from Terni to Spoleto, and from Spoleto to this place 
without stopping, the illustrious Duchess and her ladies 
were so fatigued that she decided to rest a day in Spoleto 
and another in Foligno. We, therefore, shall not leave 
here until to-morrow morning, and shall not arrive at 
Urbino before next Tuesday, that is the eighteenth of the 
current month, for to-morrow we shall reach Nocera, 
Saturday Gualdo, Sunday Gubbio, Monday Cagli, and 
Tuesday Urbino, where we shall rest another day, that is 
Wednesday. On the twentieth we shall set out for Pe- 
saro, and so on from city to city, as we have already 
written your Excellency. 

We feel certain, however, that the duchess will stop 
frequently to rest, consequently we shall not reach Ferrara 
before the last of the present or the first of next month, 
and perhaps not until the second or third. We therefore 
thought it well to write your Excellency from here, letting 

229 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

you know where we were and where we expected to be, so 
that you might arrange matters as you thought best. If 
you wish us not to arrive in Ferrara until the second or 
third, it would not be difficult so to arrange it ; but if you 
think it would be better for us to reach the city the last of 
this month or the first of February, write us to that effect, 
and we will endeavor, as we have hitherto done, to shorten 
the periods of rest. 

I mention this because the illustrious Donna Lucretia 
is of a delicate constitution and, like her ladies, is un- 
accustomed to the saddle, and because we notice that she 
does not wish to be worn out when she reaches Ferrara. 

In all the cities through which her Majesty passes she 
is received with every show of affection and with great 
honors, and presented with numerous gifts by the women. 
Everything is done for her comfort. She was welcomed 
everywhere and, as she was formerly ruler of Spoleto, she 
was well known to the people. Her reception here in Foligno 
was more cordial and accompanied by greater manifesta- 
tions of joy than anywhere else outside of Rome, for not 
only did the signors of the city, as the officials of the com- 
mune are called, clad in red silk, come on foot to meet her 
and accompany her to her inn on the Piazza, but at the 
gate she was confronted by a float upon which was a per- 
son representing the Roman Lucretia with a dagger in 
her hand, who recited some verses to the effect that her 
Majesty excelled herself in graciousness, modesty, intelli- 
gence, and understanding, and that therefore she would 
yield her own place to her. 

There was also a float upon which was a cupid, and on 
the summit, with the golden apple in his hand, stood Paris, 
who repeated some stanzas, the gist of which was as follows : 
he had promised the apple to Venus, the only one who ex- 
celled both Juno and Pallas in beauty; but he now re- 
versed his decision, and presented it to her Majesty as she, 
of all women, was the only one who surpassed all the god- 
desses, possessing greater beauty, wisdom, riches, and power 
than all three united. 

Finally, on the Piazza we discovered an armed Turkish 
galley coming toward us, and one of the Turks, who was 
standing on the bulwarks, repeated some stanzas of the 
following import: the sultan well knew how powerful 
was Lucretia in Italy, and he had sent him to greet her, 

230 



THE JOURNEY TO FERRARA 

and to say that his master would surrender everything he 
had taken from the Christians. We made no special effort 
to remember these verses, for they were not exactly Pe- 
trarchian, and, moreover, the ship did not appear to us to 
be a very happy idea ; it was rather out of place. 

We must not forget to tell you that all the reigning 
Baglione came from Perugia and their castles, and were 
waiting for Lucretia about four miles from Foligno, and 
that they invited her to go to Perugia. 

Her Majesty, as we wrote your Excellency from Narni, 
persists in her wish to journey from Bologna to Ferrara 
by water to escape the discomfort of riding and traveling 
by land. 

His Holiness, our Lord, is so concerned for her Ma- 
jesty that he demands daily and even hourly reports of 
her journey, and she is required to write him with her own 
hand from every city regarding her health. This con- 
firms the statement which has frequently been made to 
your Excellency — that his Holiness loves her more than 
any other person of his blood. 

We shall not neglect to make a report to your Excel- 
lency regarding the journey whenever an opportunity 
offers. 

Between Terni and Spoleto, in the valley of the Stret- 
tura, one of the hostlers of the illustrious Don Sigismondo 
engaged in a violent altercation about some turtle doves 
with one of his fellows in the service of the Roman Stefano 
dei Fabii, who is a member of the duchess's escort. Both 
grasped their arms, whereupon one Pizaguerra, also in the 
service of the illustrious Don Sigismondo, happening to 
ride by on his horse, wounded Stefano 's hostler on the 
head. Thereupon Stefano, who is naturally quarrelsome 
and vindictive, became so angry that he declared he would 
accompany the cavalcade no farther. About this time we 
reached the castle of Spoleto, and he passed the illus- 
trious Don Sigismondo and Don Ferrante without speak- 
ing to them or even looking at them. The whole affair 
was due to a misunderstanding which we all regretted very 
much, and as Pizaguerra and Don Sigismondo 's hostler 
had fled, there was nothing more to be done ; the Cardinal 
of Cosenza, the illustrious Madonna, and all the others 
agreed that Stefano was in the wrong. He, therefore, was 
mollified, and continued on the journey. We commend 

231 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ourselves to your Excellency's mercy. From Foligno, 
January 13, 1502. 

Your Majesty's servants, 
Johannes Lucas and Girardus Saracenus. 

Postscript : The worthy Cardinal of Cosenza, we under- 
stand, is unwilling to pass through the territory of the illus- 
trious Duke of Urbino. 

From Foligno the journey was continued by way of 
Nocera and Gualdo to Gubbio, one of the most important 
cities in the duchy of Urbino. About two miles from that 
place the Duchess Elisabetta met Lucretia and accom- 
panied her to the city palace. After this the two remained 
constantly in each other's company, for Elisabetta kept 
her promise and accompanied Lucretia to Ferrara. 

Cardinal Borgia returned to Rome from Gubbio, and 
the two ladies occupied the comfortable sedan-chair which 
Alexander had presented his daughter. January 18th, 
when the cavalcade was near Urbino, Lucretia was greeted 
by Duke Guidobaldo, who had come with his entire court to 
meet her. He accompanied Lucretia to the residence set 
apart for her — Federico 's beautiful palace — where she and 
the princes of Este were lodged, the duke and duchess hav- 
ing vacated it for them. The artful Guidobaldo had set 
up the Borgia arms and those of the King of France in 
conspicuous places in Urbino and throughout the various 
cities of his domain. 

Although Lucretia 's wedding was regarded by the 
Montrefeltre with great displeasure, they now, on account 
of Ferrara and because of their fear of the Pope, hastened 
to show her every honor. They had been acquainted with 
Lucretia in Rome when Guidobaldo, Alexander's condot- 
tiere, conducted the unsuccessful war against the Orsini, 
and they had also known her in Pesaro. Perhaps they 

232 



THE JOURNEY TO FERRARA 

now hoped that Urbino's safety would be assured by Lu- 
cretia's influence and friendship. However, only a few 
months were to pass before Guidobaldo and his consort were 
to be undone by the fiendishness of their guest's brother 
and driven from their domain. 

After resting a day, Lucretia and the duchess, accom- 
panied for a short distance by Guidobaldo, set out from 
Urbino, January 20th, for Pesaro, which they reached late 
in the evening. The road connecting these cities is now a 
comfortable highway, traversing a beautiful, undulating 
country, but at that time it was little more than a bridle- 
path ; consequently the travelers were thoroughly fatigued 
when they reached their destination. 

When Lucretia entered the latter city she must have been 
overcome by painful emotions, for she could not fail to have 
been reminded of Sforza, her discarded husband, who was 
now an exile in Mantua, brooding on revenge, and who 
might appear at any moment in Ferrara to mar the wed- 
ding festivities. Pesaro now belonged to her brother 
Caesar, and he had given orders that his sister should be 
royally received in all the cities she visited in his domain. 
A hundred children clad in his colors — yellow and red — 
with olive branches in their hands, greeted her at the 
gates of Pesaro with the cry, " Duca! Duca! Lucretia! 
Lucretia! " and the city officials accompanied her to her 
former residence.* 

Lucretia was received with every evidence of joy by 
her former subjects, and the most prominent of the noble 
women of the city, among whom was the matron Lucretia 
Lopez, once her lady-in-waiting, and now wife of Gian- 
francesco Ardizi.f 

* Lucretia's colors were yellow and dark brown (morrelo aperto), 
while Alexander's were yellow and black. 

\ Spogli di Giambattista Almerici. i, 284. Ms. in the Oliveriana in 
Pesaro. 233 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Lucretia remained a day in Pesaro without allowing 
herself to be seen. In the evening she permitted the ladies 
of her suite to dance with those of the city, but she herself 
took no part in the festivities. Pozzi wrote the duke that 
she spent the entire time in her chamber ' ' for the purpose 
of washing her head, and because she was naturally in- 
clined to solitude." Her seclusion while in Pesaro may 
be explained as more likely due to the gloomy thoughts 
which filled her mind.* 

In every town belonging to the Duke of Romagna there 
was a similar reception; everywhere the magistrates pre- 
sented Lucretia with the keys of the city. She was now 
accompanied by her brother's lieutenant in Cesena, Don 
Ramiro d'Orco, — a monster who was quartered by Csesar's 
orders a few months later. 

Passing Rimini and Cesena she reached Forli, January 
25th. The salon of the palace was hung with costly 
tapestries, and even the ceiling was covered with many- 
colored cloth; a tribune was erected for the ladies. Pres- 
ents of food, sweetmeats, and wax tapers were offered the 
duchess. In spite of the stringent laws which Caesar's 
rectors, especially Ramiro, had passed, bands of robbers 
made the roads unsafe. Fearing that the bold bandit 
Giambattista Carraro might overtake the bridal train after 
it had left the boundaries of Cervia, a guard of a thousand 
men on foot and a hundred and fifty troopers was fur- 
nished by the people, apparently as an escort of honor. f 

In Faenza Lucretia announced that she would be 
obliged to spend Friday in Imola to wash her head, as she 
would not have an opportunity to do this again until the 

* Si per attendere a lavarse il capo, como anche per essere assai soli- 
taria et remota di soa natura. Despatch from Rimini, January 22, 1502. 
f Ferrante to Ercole, Rimini, January 23, 1502. 

234 



THE JOUENEY TO FERRAEA 

end of the carnival. This washing of the head, which we 
have already had occasion to notice as an important part 
of the toilet in those days, must, therefore, have been in 
some manner connected with dressing the hair.* The 
Ferrarese ambassador spoke of this practice of Lucretia's 
as a repeated obstacle which might delay the entrance of 
her Majesty into Ferrara until February 2d. Don Fer- 
rante likewise wrote from Imola that she would rest there 
a day to put her clothes in order and wash her head, which, 
said she, had not been done for eight days, and she, 
therefore, was suffering with headache, f 

On the way from Faenza to Imola the cavalcade 
stopped at Castle Bolognese, which had been abandoned by 
Giovanni Bentivoglio when he was threatened by Csesar. 
They found the walls of the town razed, the moat filled 
up, and even its name changed to Cesarina. 

After resting a day in Imola the cavalcade set out 
January 28th for Bologna. When they reached the bor- 
ders of the territory belonging to the city they were met 
by Bentivoglio 's sons and his consort Ginevra, with a 
brilliant retinue, and two miles from the city gate Gio- 
vanni himself was waiting to greet them. 

The tyrant of Bologna, who owed his escape from 
Csesar wholly to the protection of the French, spared noth- 
ing to honor his enemy's sister. Accompanied by several 
hundred riders, he led her in triumph through the city, 
where the arms of the Borgias, of Caesar, the Pope, and 
Lucretia, and those of France, and of the Este met her eye 
on every side. The proud matron Ginevra, surrounded by 
a large number of noble ladies, received Lucretia at the 
portals of her magnificent palace. How this famous 

* The expression is lavarsi il capo. 
\ Perrante to Ereole. Imola, January 27, 1502. 
235 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

woman, the aunt of Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro, must in 
her soul have hated this Borgia ! However, it was neither 
Alexander nor Caesar, but Giuliano della Rovere, subse- 
quently Julius II, who was destined, only four years later, 
to drive her and all her race from Bologna forever. 

January 30th was devoted to gorgeous festivities, and 
in the evening the Bentivoglio gave a ball and a banquet. 

The following day they accompanied Lucretia for a 
part of the way, as it was her purpose to continue her 
journey to Ferrara, which now was not far distant, by boat 
on the canal, which at that time ran from Bologna to 
the Po. 

The same day — January 31st — towards evening, Lu- 
cretia reached Castle Bentivoglio, which was but twenty 
miles from Ferrara. She had no sooner arrived at that 
place than her consort Alfonso suddenly appeared. She 
was greatly overcome, but promptly recovered herself and 
received him " with many professions of esteem and most 
graciously," to all of which he responded with great gal- 
lantry.* Hitherto the hereditary Prince of Ferrara had 
sullenly held aloof from the wife that had been forced 
upon him. Men of that age had not a trace of the tender- 
ness or sentimentality of those of to-day, but, even admit- 
ting this, it is certainly strange that there is no evidence 
of any correspondence between Lucretia and Alfonso dur- 
ing the time the marriage was being arranged, although a 
great many letters then passed between the duchess and 
Ercole. Either owing to a desire to please his father or to 
his own curiosity or cunning, the rough and reticent Al- 
fonso now threw off his reserve. He came in disguise, re- 
mained two hours, and then suddenly left for Ferrara. 

* Gianluca to Ercole, January 31, 1502. 
236 



THE JOUENEY TO FERRARA 

During this short interview he was greatly impressed 
by his wife. Lucretia in those two hours had certainly 
brought Alfonso under the spell of her personality, even 
if she had not completely disarmed him. Not wholly with- 
out reason had the gallant burghers of Foligno awarded 
the apple of Paris to Lucretia. Speaking of this meeting, 
one of the chroniclers of Ferrara says, " The entire people 
rejoiced greatly, as did also the bride and her own follow- 
ers, because his Majesty had shown a desire to see her and 
had received her so well — an indication that she would be 
accepted and treated still better. ' ' * 

Probably no one was more pleased than the Pope. His 
daughter immediately informed him of her reception, for 
she sent him daily letters giving an account of her jour- 
ney; and he also received numerous despatches from other 
persons in her train. Up to this time he had felt some 
misgivings as to her reception by the Este, but now he 
was relieved. After she had left Eome he frequently 
asked Cardinal Ferrari to warn the duke to treat his 
daughter-in-law kindly, remarking, at the same time, that 
he had done a great deal for her, and would do still more. 
He declared that the remission of Ferrara 's tribute would, 
if paid for in money, require not less than two hundred 
thousand ducats, and that the officials of the chancellery had 
demanded between five and six thousand ducats merely 
for preparing the bulls. The kings of France and Spain 
had been compelled to pay the Duke of Romagna a yearly 
tribute of twenty thousand ducats for the remission of 
the taxes of Naples, which consisted only in the payment 



* Bernardino Zambotto. See Monsignor Giuseppe Antonelli's work, 
Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara, sposa a Don Alfonso d'Este, Memorie 
storiche. . . . Ferrara, 1867. 

237 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

of a single white horse. Ferrara, on the other hand, had 
been granted everything.* 

The duke replied to the cardinal January 22d, assuring 
him that his daughter-in-law would meet with a most af- 
fectionate reception.f 

* The ambassador Beltrando Costabili to Duke Ercole, Rome, Janu- 
ary 7, 1502. 

f The duke to his ambassador in Rome, Ferrara, January 22, 1502, 
in the Minute Ducali a Costabili Beltrando Oratore a Roma. 



238 



CHAPTER II 

FORMAL ENTRY INTO FERRARA 

February 1st Lueretia continued her journey to Fer- 
rara by the canal. Near Malalbergo she found Isabella 
Gonzaga waiting to meet her. At the urgent request of 
her father, the marchioness, much against her will, had 
come to do the honors during the festivities in his palace. 
" In violent anger," so she wrote her husband, who re- 
mained at home, she greeted and embraced her sister-in- 
law. She accompanied her by boat to Torre della Fossa, 
where the canal empties into a branch of the Po. This 
river, a majestic stream, flows four miles from Ferrara, 
and only a branch — Po di Ferrara — now known as the 
Canale di Cento, reaches the city, where it divides into 
two arms, the Volano and Primaro, both of which empty 
into the Adriatic. They are very small canals, and, there- 
fore, it could have been no pleasure to travel on them, nor 
was it an imposing spectacle. 

The duke, with Don Alfonso and his court, awaited 
Lueretia at Torre della Fossa. When she left the boat the 
duke saluted her on the cheek, she having first respectfully 
kissed his hand. Thereupon, all mounted a magnificently 
decorated float, to which the foreign ambassadors and 
numerous cavaliers came to kiss the bride's hand. To the 
strains of music and the thunder of cannon the cavalcade 
proceeded to the Borgo S. Luca, where they all descended. 
Lueretia took up her residence in the palace of Alberto 

239 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

d'Este, Ercole's illegitimate brother. Here she was re- 
ceived by Lueretia Bentivigolio, natural daughter of Er- 
cole, and numerous ladies of her court. The duke's sene- 
chal brought to her Madonna Teodora and twelve young 
women who were to serve her as ladies-in-waiting. Five 
beautiful carriages, each drawn by four horses, a present 
from her father-in-law, were placed at her disposal. In 
this villa, which is no longer in existence, Lueretia spent 
the night. The suburb of S. Luca is still there, but the 
entire locality is so changed that it would be impossible 
to recognize it. 

The seat of the Este was thronged with thousands of 
sightseers, some of whom had been invited by the duke 
and others drawn thither by curiosity. All the vassals of 
the State, but not the reigning princes, were present. The 
lords of Urbino and Mantua were represented by the 
ladies of their families, and the house of Bentivoglio by 
Annibale. Home, Venice, Florence, Lucca, Siena, and the 
King of France had sent ambassadors, who were lodged in 
the palaces of the nobles. The Duke of Romagna had re- 
mained in Rome and sent a representative. It had been 
Alexander's wish that Caesar's wife, Charlotte d'Albret, 
should come from France to attend the wedding festivities 
in Ferrara and remain a month, but she did not appear. 

With royal extravagance Ercole had prepared for the 
festivities; the magazines of the court and the warehouses 
of the city had been filled with supplies for weeks past. 
Whatever the Renaissance had to offer, that she provided 
in Ferrara ; for the city was the seat of a cultivated court 
and the home of a hospitable bourgeoisie, and also a town 
where science, art, and industry thrived. 

Lueretia 's entrance, February 2d, was, therefore, one 
of the most brilliant spectacles of the age, and, as far as 

240 



FORMAL ENTRY INTO FERRARA 

she herself was concerned, it was the greatest moment of 
her life; for she was entering into the enjoyment of the 
highest and best of which her nature was capable. 

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the duke and all the 
ambassadors betook themselves to Alberto's villa to fetch 
his daughter-in-law to the city. The cavalcade set out 
over the bridge, crossing the branch of the Po, to pass 
through the gate of Castle Tedaldo, a fortress no longer 
in existence. 

At its head were seventy-five mounted archers in the 
livery of the house of Este — white and red — who were 
accompanied by eighty trumpeters and a number of fifes. 
Then came the nobility of Ferrara without regard to rank, 
followed by the members of the courts of the Marchioness 
of Mantua, who remained behind in the palace, and of the 
Duchess of Urbino. Behind them rode Alfonso, with his 
brother-in-law, Annibale Bentivoglio, at his side, and ac- 
companied by eight pages. He was dressed in red velvet in 
the French fashion, and on his head he wore a black velvet 
biretta, upon which was an ornament of wrought gold. 
He wore small red boots and French gaiters of black velvet. 
His bay horse was caparisoned in crimson and gold. 

On the way to Ferrara, Don Alfonso did not ride by the 
side of his consort as this would have been contrary to the 
etiquette of the day. The bridegroom led the procession, 
near the middle of which was the bride, while the father-in- 
law came last. This arrangement was intended to indicate 
that Lucretia was the chief personage in the parade. Just 
behind Alfonso came her escort, pages, and court officials, 
among whom were several Spanish cavaliers; then five 
bishops, followed by the ambassadors according to rank; 
the four deputies of Rome, mounted upon beautiful horses 
and wearing long brocade cloaks and black birettas coming 
16 241 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

next. These were followed by six tambourines and two of 
Lucretia's favorite clowns. 

Then came the bride herself, radiantly beautiful and 
happy, mounted upon a white jennet with scarlet trap- 
pings, and followed by her master of horse. Lucretia was 
dressed in a loose-sleeved camorra of black velvet with a 
narrow gold border, and a cape of gold brocade trimmed 
with ermine. On her head she wore a sort of net glitter- 
ing with diamonds and gold — a present from her father- 
in-law. She did not wear a diadem. About her neck she 
had a chain of pearls and rubies which had once belonged 
to the Duchess of Ferrara — as Isabella noticed with tears 
in her eyes. Her beautiful hair fell down uneonfined on 
her shoulders. She rode beneath a purple baldachin, which 
the doctors of Ferrara — that is, the members of the facul- 
ties of law, medicine, and mathematics — supported in turn. 

For the purpose of honoring the King of France, the 
protector of Ferrara and of the Borgias, Lucretia had sum- 
moned the French ambassador, Philipp della Rocca Berti, 
to ride at her left, near her, but not under the baldachin. 
This was intended to show that it was owing to this power- 
ful monarch that the bride was entering the palace of the 
Este. 

Behind Lucretia came the duke, in black velvet, on a 
dark horse with trappings of the same material. On his 
right was the Duchess of Urbino clad in a dark velvet 
gown.* 

* Isabella Gonzaga, who watched the parade from a window of the 
palace, describes this scene to the duke. Letter to her husband, Fer- 
rara, February 2d, in the Archivio Storico ltal. App. ii, 305. Her report 
excels in some particulars the picture given by Marino Sanuo (Diar. 
vol. iv, fol. 104, sq.). Ordine di le pompe e spectaculi di le noze de mad. 
Lucretia Borgia. Reprinted in Rawdon Brown's Ragguaglio sulla vita 
e le opere di M. Sanudo, ii, 197, sq. 

242 



FORMAL ENTRY INTO FERRARA 

Then followed nobles, pages, and other personages of 
the house of Este, each of whom was accompanied by one 
of Lucretia's ladies. The only important member of the 
family not present was Cardinal Ippolito, who had re- 
mained in Rome, and who, from that city, wrote Lucretia, 
January 16th, saying he had called on her son Rodrigo and 
found him asleep. February 9th he wrote that the Pope 
had invited Cajsar and himself together with Cardinal 
Borgia and the Signora Principessa — this was Sancia — to 
supper.* Of the women who accompanied Lucretia, only 
three were mounted — Girolama Borgia, wife of Pabio Or- 
sini; another Orsini, who is not described more explicitly; 
and Madonna Adriana, " a widowed noblewoman, a kins- 
woman of the Pope."f 

Behind them came fourteen floats upon which were seated 
a number of the noble women of Ferrara, beautifully 
dressed, including the twelve young ladies who had been 
allotted to Lucretia as maids of honor. Then followed two 
white mules and two white horses decked with velvet and 
silk and costly gold trappings. Eighty-six mules accom- 
panied the train bearing the bride's trousseau and jewels. 
When the good people of Ferrara saw them slowly wending 
their way through the streets, they must have thought that 
Alfonso had chosen a rich bride. It never occurred to them 
that these chests, boxes, and bales which were being carried 
through the streets with such ostentation were filled with 
the plunder of various cities of Christendom. 

At the gate near Castle Tedaldo, Lucretia's horse was 
frightened "by the discharge of a cannon, and the chief 

* Letters in the archives of Modena. 

f This is according to Isabella Gonzaga; Cagnolo's report mentioned, 
instead of this woman, another Adriana, the wife of Francesco Colonna of 
Palestrina. 

243 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

actor was thrown. The bride rose without assistance, and 
the duke placed her upon another horse, whereupon the 
cortege started again. In honor of Lucretia there were 
triumphal arches, tribunes, orations, and mythological 
scenes. Among the last was a procession of nymphs, with 
their queen at their head, riding upon a bull, with satyrs 
disporting themselves about her. Sannazzaro may have 
thought that the epigram in which he had referred to 
Giulia Farnese as Europa on the bull suggested this repre- 
sentation of the Borgia arms. 

When the cavalcade reached the Piazza before the 
church, two rope-walkers descended from the towers and 
addressed compliments to the bride ; thus was the ludicrous 
introduced into public festivities at that time. 

It was now night, and the procession had reached the 
palace of the duke, and at the moment it did so all pris- 
oners were given their liberty. At this point all the trum- 
peters and fifes were massed. 

It is impossible to tell exactly where the palace was 
situated to which Lucretia was conducted. The Este had 
built a number of residences in the city, which they occu- 
pied in turn. Among them were Schifanoja, Diamanti, 
Paradiso, Belvedere, Belfiore, and Castle Vecchio. A local 
chronicler in the year 1494 mentions, in enumerating the 
palaces of the lords of the house of Este, the Palazzo del 
Cortile and Castle Vecchio as belonging to the duke ; Castle 
Vecchio to Alfonso and the palace of the Certosa to Car- 
dinal Ippolito.* Ercole, therefore, in the year 1502, was 
residing in one of the two palaces mentioned above, which 
were connected with each other by a row of structures ex- 
tending from the old castle to the Piazza before the church, 

* Ms. chronicle of Mario Equicola in the library of Ferrara, in the 
University, formerly the Paradiso. 

244 



FORMAL ENTRY INTO FERRARA 

which ended in the Palazzo della Ragione. They are still 
connected, although the locality has greatly changed. 

The duke's palace was opposite the church. It had a 
large court with a marble stairway, and was therefore 
called the Palazzo del Cortile. This court is doubtless the 
one now known as the Cortile Ducale. It was entered from 
the Piazza through a high archway, at the sides of which 
were columns which formerly supported statues of Niccolo 
III and Borso. The writers who describe Lucretia's en- 
trance into the city say that she dismounted from her horse 
at the steps of the marble court (a le scale del Cortile di 
Marmo). 

Here she was received by the Marchioness Gonzaga and 
numerous other prominent ladies. Alfonso's young wife 
must have smiled — if in the excitement of the moment she 
noticed it — when she found that the noble house of Este 
had selected such a large number of their bastard daughters 
to welcome her. She was greeted at the stairway by Lu- 
cretia, Ercole's natural daughter, wife of Annibale Benti- 
voglio, and three illegitimate daughters of Sigismondo 
d'Este — Lucretia, Countess of Carrara; the beautiful 
Diana, Countess of Uguzoni ; and Bianca Sanseverino.* 

It was night, and lights and torches illuminated the 
palace. To the sound of music the young couple was con- 
ducted to the reception hall, where they took their places 
on a throne. Here followed the formal introduction of the 
court officials, and an orator delivered a speech apparently 
based upon the information which the duke had instructed 
his ambassadors to secure regarding the house of Borgia. 
It is not known who was the fortunate orator, but we are 
familiar with the names of some of the poets who addressed 
epithalamia to the beautiful princess. Nicolaus Marius 

* Paolo Zerbinati, Memorie, Ms. in the library of Ferrara, p. 3. 

245 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

Paniciatus composed a number of spirituelle Latin poems 
and epigrams in honor of Lucretia, Alfonso, and Ercole, 
which were collected under the title of ' ' Borgias. ' ' Among 
them are some ardent wishes for the prosperity of the 
young couple. Lucretia 's beauty is described as excelling 
that of Helen because it was accompanied by incomparable 
modesty.* 

Apparently this youthful poet did not have his stanzas 
printed, for they exist only in a manuscript in the library 
of Ferrara. Before Lucretia 's entry the printer Lauren- 
tius pubished an epithalamium by a young Latinist, the 
celebrated Celio Calcagnini, who subsequently became 
famous as a mathematician. He was a favorite of Car- 
dinal Ippolito, and a friend of the great Erasmus. The 
subject matter of the poem is very simple. Venus leaves 
Rome and accompanies Lucretia. Mnemosyne admonishes 
her daughters, the Muses, to celebrate the noble princess, 
which they accordingly do. The princes of the house are 
not forgotten, for Euterpe sings the praises of Ercole, 
Terpsicore lauds Alfonso, and Caliope recites Cagsar's vic- 
tories in the Romagna.f 

* The Ms. is in the library of Ferrara : Nicolai Marii Paniciati f er- 
rariensis, Borgias. Ad. Excell. D. Lucretiam Borgiara 111. Alphonsi 
Estensis Sponsam celeber MDII. One epigram is as follows: 
Tyndaridem jactant Heroica secula cujus 
Armavit varios forma superba Duces, 

Haec collata tibi, merito Lucretia cedit, 
Nam tuus omne Helenes lumen obumbrat honor: 
Ilia neces populis, diuturnaque bella paravit: 
Tu bona tranquillae pacis opima refers. 

Moribus ilia suis speciem temeravit honestam: 
Innumeris speciem dotibus ipsa colis: 

Ore deam praestas : virtute venustior alma : 
Foeda Helenas facies aequiparata tuae. 
f Caelii Calcagnini Ferrariensis. In lllustriss. Divi Alphonsi Primo- 
geniti Herculis Ducis Ferr. ac Divae Lucretiae Borgiae Nuptias Epithala- 

246 



FORMAL ENTRY INTO FEREARA 

Another Ferrarese poet makes his appearance on this 
occasion, a man of whom much was expected, Ariosto, who 
was then twenty-seven years old, and already known at the 
court of the Este and in the cultivated circles of Italy as 
a Latinist and a writer of comedies. He also wrote an 
epithalamium addressed to Lucretia. It is graceful, and 
not burdened with mythological pedantry, but it lacks in- 
vention. The poet congratulates Ferrara, — which will 
henceforth be the envy of all other cities, — for having won 
an incomparable jewel. He sympathizes with Rome for the 
loss of Lucretia, saying that it has again fallen into ruins.* 
He describes the young princess as " pulcherrima virgo," 
and refers to Lucretia of ancient times. 

On the conclusion of the festivities which greeted her 
on her arrival, the duke accompanied Lucretia to the apart- 
ments which had been prepared for her. She must have 
been pleased with her reception by the house of Este, and 
the impression made by her own personality was most 
favorable. The chronicler Bernardino Zambotto speaks of 
her as follows: " The bride is twenty-four years of age 
(this is incorrect) ; she has a beautiful countenance, spark- 
ling and animated eyes ; a slender figure ; she is keen and 
intellectual, joyous and human, and possesses good reason- 
ing powers. She pleased the people so greatly that they 
are perfectly satisfied with her, and they look to her Maj- 
esty for protection and good government. They are truly 

mium. Laurentius de Valentia Imprimebat Ferraris? Deo Opt. Max. 
Favente. Calend. Febr. MDII. 

* Est levis haec jactura tamen, ruat hoc quoque quicquid 
Est reliquum, juvet et nudis habitare sub antris, 
Vivere dura liceat tecum pulcherrima virgo. 

Ludovici Areosti Ferrariensis Epithalamion, in vol. i of Carmina 
Illustrium Poetarum Italorum, p. 342-346. 

247 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

delighted, for they think that the city will greatly profit 
through her, especially as the Pope will refuse her nothing, 
as is shown by the portion he gave her, and by presenting 
Don Alfonso with certain cities. ' ' 

Lucretia's face, judging by the medal, must have been 
fascinating. Cagnolo of Parma describes her as follows: 
' ' She is of medium height and slender figure. Her face is 
long, the nose well defined and beautiful ; her hair a bright 
gold, and her eyes blue ; her mouth is somewhat large, the 
teeth dazzlingly white ; her neck white and slender, but at 
the same time well rounded. She is always cheerful and 
good-humored. ' '* 

To indicate the color of the eyes, Cagnolo uses the word 
' ' bianco, ' ' which in the language of the people still means 
blue. In the folk songs of Tuscany collected by Tigri, 
there is frequent mention of ocelli bianchi, — that is, ' ' blue 
eyes." The Florentine Firenzuola, in his work on " the 
perfect beauty of woman," says she must have blond hair 
and blue eyes, with the pupil not quite black, although the 
Greeks and Italians preferred it so. The most beautiful 
color for the eyes, according to this writer, is tane.f The 
poets of Ferrara, who immediately began to sing the daz- 
zling power of the eyes of their beautiful duchess, did not 
mention their color. 

This remarkable woman charmed all beholders with her 
indescribable grace, to which there was added something 
of mystery, and not by any classic beauty or dignity. 
Vivacity, gentleness, and amiability are the qualities which 

* Di mediocre statura, gracile in aspetto, di faccia alquanto lunga, 
il naso profilato e bello, li capelli aurei, gli occhi bianchi, la bocca al- 
quanto grande con li denti candidissimi ; la gola schietta e bianca ornata 
con decente valore, ed in essere continuamente allegra e ridente. See 
Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara. Ferrara, 1867. 

f Agnolo Firenzuola, vol. i. Delia perfetto bellezza di una donna. 

248 




AEIOSTO. 
From a painting by Titian. 



FORMAL ENTRY INTO FERRARA 

all Lucretia's contemporaries discovered in her.* This 
animated and delicate face, with large blue eyes, and sur- 
rounded with golden hair, suggests the ethereal beauty of 
Shakespeare 's Imogene. 

* Fu essa Lucrezia di venusto e mansueto aspetto, prudente, di 
gratissime maniere negli atti, e nel parlare di molta grazia e allegrezza, 
says Alfonso's secretary, Bonaventura Pistofilo, in his Vita di Alfonso I 
d'Este. The epithets venusta, gentile, graziosa, amabile, are conferred 
upon her by all her contemporaries. 



249 



CHAPTER III 

FETES GIVEN IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR 

The wedding festivities in Ferrara continued for six 
days during the carnival. At the period of the Renais- 
sance, court functions and festivities, so far as the intellec- 
tual part is concerned, were not unlike those of the present 
day; but the magnificent costumes, the highly developed 
sense of material beauty, and the more elaborate etiquette 
of the age which gave birth to Castiglione 's Cortegiano lent 
these festivities a higher character. 

The sixteenth century was far behind our own in many 
of its productions — theatrical performances, displays of 
fireworks, and concert music. There were illuminations, 
and mounted torchlight processions; and rockets were fre- 
quently used; but an illuminated garden fete such as the 
Emperor of Austria gave for the Shah of Persia at Schon- 
brunn would at that time have been impossible. The same 
might be said of certain forms of musical entertainment; 
for example, concerts. Society in that age would have 
shuddered at the orchestral music of to-day, and the ear- 
splitting drums would have appeared barbarous to the 
Italians of the Renaissance, just as would the military 
parades, which are still among the favorite spectacles with 
which distinguished guests are either honored or intimi- 
dated at the great courts of Europe. Even then tourneys 
were rare, although there were occasional combats of gladi- 
ators, whose costumes were greatly admired. 

25Q 



FETES IN LUCEETIA'S HONOR 

The duke and his master of ceremonies had spent weeks 
in preparing the program for the wedding festivities, al- 
though these did not admit of any great variety, being lim- 
ited as they are now to banquets, balls, and theatrical 
productions. It was from the last-named form of enter- 
tainment that Ercole promised himself the most, and which, 
he expected, would win for him the applause of the culti- 
vated world. 

He was one of the most active patrons of the theater 
during the Renaissance. Several years before he had com- 
missioned the poets at his court to translate some of the plays 
of Plautus and Terence into terza rima, and had produced 
them. Guarino, Berardo, Collenuccio, and even Bojordo 
had been employed in this work by him. As early as 1486 
an Italian version of the Mencechmi, the favorite play of 
Plautus, had been produced in Ferrara. In February, 
1491, when Ercole, with most brilliant festivities, celebrated 
the betrothal of his son Alfonso and Anna Sforza, the Me- 
ncechmi and one of the comedies of Terence were given. 
The Amphitryon, which Cagnolo had prepared for the 
stage, was also played. 

There was no permanent theater in Ferrara, but a tem- 
porary one had been erected which served for the produc- 
tion of plays which were given only during the carnival 
and on other important occasions. Ercole had arranged a 
salon in the palace of the Podesta — a Gothic building op- 
posite the church — which is still standing and is known as 
the Palazzo della Ragione. The salon was connected with 
the palace itself by a passage way. 

A raised stage called the tribune was erected. It was 
about one' hundred and twenty feet long and a hundred 
and fifty feet wide. It had houses of painted wood, and 
whatever was necessary in the way of scenery, rocks, trees, 

251 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

etc. It was separated from the audience by a wooden 
partition in which was a sheet-metal curtain. On the 
forward part of the stage — the orchestra — sat the princes 
and other important personages, and in the amphitheater 
were thirteen rows of cushioned seats, those in the middle 
being occupied by the women, and those at the sides by 
the men. This space accommodated about three thousand 
people. 

According to Strozzi, Ariosto, Calcagnini, and other 
humanists of Ferrara, it was Ercole himself who con- 
structed this theatre. They and other academicians prob- 
ably took part in the performances, but the duke also 
brought actors from abroad, from Mantua, Siena, and 
Rome. They numbered in all no less than a hundred and 
ten persons, and it was necessary to build a new dressing- 
room for them. The theatrical performances on this bril- 
liant occasion must, therefore, have aroused great expecta- 
tions. 

The festivities began February 3d, and it was soon ap- 
parent that the chief attraction would be the beauty of 
three famous women — Lucretia, Isabella, and the Duchess 
of Urbino. They were regarded as the three handsomest 
women of the age, and it was difficult to decide which was 
the fairer, Isabella or Lucretia. The Duchess of Mantua 
was six years older than her sister-in-law, but a most 
beautiful woman, and with feminine curiosity she studied 
Lucretia 's appearance. In the letters which she daily 
wrote to her husband in Mantua, she carefully described 
the dress of her rival, but said not a word regarding her 
personal charms. " Concerning Donna Lucretia 's figure," 
so she wrote February 1st, ' ' I shall say nothing, for I am 
aware that your Majesty knows her by sight." She was 
unable to conceal her vanity, and in another letter, written 

252 



FETES IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR 

February 3d, she gave her husband to understand that she 
hoped, so far as her own personality and her retinue were 
concerned, to be able to stand comparison with any of the 
others and even to bear away the prize. One of the ladies 
of her suite, the Marchesana of Cotrone, wrote the duke, 
saying, ' ' The bride is not especially handsome, but she has 
an animated face, and in spite of her having such a large 
number of ladies with her, and notwithstanding the pres- 
ence of the illustrious lady of Urbino, who is very beautiful, 
and who clearly shows that she is your Excellency's sister, 
my illustrious mistress Isabella, according to our opinion 
and of those who came with the Duchess of Ferrara, is the 
most beautiful of all. There is no doubt about this; com- 
pared with her Majesty, all the others are as nothing. 
Therefore we shall bring the prize home to the house of 
our mistress."* 

The first evening of the festivities a ball was given in 
the great salon of the palace at which the attendance was 
so large that many were unable to gain admission. Lu- 
cretia was enthroned upon a tribune, and near her were 
the princesses of Mantua and Urbino. Other prominent 
ladies and the ambassadors also came and took up a posi- 
tion near her. The guests, therefore, in spite of the crowd, 
had a chance to admire the beautiful women, and their 
gowns and jewels. During the Renaissance, balls were 
less formal than they are now. Pleasures then were more 
natural and simple ; frequently the ladies danced with each 
other, and sometimes even alone. The dances were almost 

* Isabella's remarkable letters regarding the marriage festivities in 
Ferrara are printed in the Notizie di Isabella Estense by Carlo d'Arco. 
Archivio Storico Ital. App. ii. 223, sq. The letter of the Marchesa of 
Cotrone of February 1st is in the library of Mantua, and there are several 
other letters in the archives of that city written by her to Gonzaga re- 
garding the festivities. 

253 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

exclusively French, for even at that time France had begun 
to impose her customs on all the rest of the world ; still there 
were some Spanish and Italian ones. Lucretia was a grace- 
ful dancer, and she was always ready to display her skill. 
She frequently descended from the tribune and executed 
Spanish and Roman dances to the sound of the tambourine.* 
The following day the eagerly expected dramatic per- 
formances were given. First the duke had the actors ap- 
pear in masks and costumes for the purpose of reviewing 
them. The director of the troop then came forward in the 
character of Plautus and read the program and the argu- 
ment of each piece which was to be rendered during the 
five evenings. The selection of comedies by living drama- 
tists in the year 1502 could not have cost the duke much 
thought, for there were none of any special importance. 
The Calandra of Dovizi, which a few years later caused such 
a sensation, was not yet written. It is true Ariosto had al- 
ready composed his Cassaria and the Suppositi, but he had 
not yet won sufficient renown for him to be honored by 
their presentation at the wedding festivities.! Moreover, 
the duke would have none but classic productions. He 
wanted to set all the world talking; and, in truth, Italy 
had never seen any theatrical performances equal to these. 
We possess careful descriptions of them which have not 
yet been incorporated in the history of the stage. They 
show more clearly than do the reports regarding the Vati- 

* Qual Madama Sposa danzo molte danze al suono delli suoi Tam- 
burini alia Romanescae Spagnuola: report of Niccolo Cagnolo of Parma, 
who had accompanied the French ambassador to Ferrara. Zambotto 
used this description of the wedding festivities in his chronicle, and it 
was subsequently reprinted in Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara, etc. 

f The Cassaria was first produced in 1508, and the Suppositi in 
1509. Giuseppe Campori, Notizie per la vita di Lod. Ariosto, 2d ed. 
Modena, 1871, p. 67. 

254 



FETES IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR 

can theater in the time of Leo X what was the real nature 
of theatrical performances during the Renaissance; conse- 
quently, they constitute a valuable picture of the times. 

If one could follow the reports of Cagnolo, Zambotto, 
and Isabella, and reproduce in imagination the brilliant 
wedding and the guests in their rich costumes seated in 
rows, he would behold one of the fairest and most illustri- 
ous gatherings of the Renaissance. This scene, rich in 
form and color, taken in conjunction with the stage, and 
the performances of the comedies of Plautus, and with the 
pantomimes and the morescke which occupied the time be- 
tween the acts, is so romantic that we might imagine our- 
selves translated to Shakespeare's Midsummer-Night's 
Dream, and that Duke Ercole had changed places with 
Theseus, Duke of Athens, and that the comedies were being 
performed before him and the happy bridal pair. 

According to the program, from February 3d to Feb- 
ruary 8th — with the exception of one evening — five of the 
plays of Plautus were to be given. The intermissions were 
to be devoted to music and moresche. The moresca resem- 
bled the modern ballet; that is, a pantomime dance. It 
is of very ancient origin, and traces of it appear in the 
Middle Ages. At first it was a war dance in costume, 
which character it preserved for a long time. The 
name is, I believe, derived from the fact that in all the 
Latin countries which suffered from the invasions of the 
Saracens, dances in which the participants were armed 
and which simulated the battles of the Moor and Christian 
were executed. The Moors, for the sake of contrast, were 
represented as black. Subsequently the meaning of the 
term moresca was extended to include the ballet in general, 
and all sorts of scenes in which dances accompanied by 
flutes and violins were introduced. The subjects were de- 

255 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

rived from mythology, the age of chivalry, and everyday 
life. 

There were also comic dances performed by fantastic 
monsters, peasants, clowns, wild animals, and satyrs, dur- 
ing which blows were freely dealt right and left. The 
classico-romantic ballet appears to have reached a high 
development in Ferrara, which was the home of the ro- 
mantic epics — the Mambriano and the Orlando. It is need- 
less to say that the ballet possessed great attraction for 
the public in those days, just it now does. The presenta- 
tion of the comedies of Plautus would have no more effect 
upon people of this age than would a puppet show. They 
lasted from four to five hours — from six in the evening 
until midnight. 

The first evening the duke conducted his guests into 
the theater, and when they had taken their seats, Plautus 
appeared before the bridal couple and addressed some 
complimentary verses to them. After this the Epidicus was 
presented. Each act was followed by a ballet, and five 
beautiful moresche were given during the interludes of the 
play. First entered ten armed gladiators, who danced to 
the sound of tambourines ; then followed a mimic battle be- 
tween twelve people in different costumes; the third 
moresca was led by a young woman upon a car which was 
drawn by a unicorn, and upon it were several persons bound 
to the trunk of a tree, while seated under the bushes were 
four lute players. The young woman loosed the bonds of 
the captives, who immediately descended and danced while 
the lute players sang beautiful canzone — at least so says 
Cagnolo; the cultured Duchess of Mantua, however, wrote 
that the music was so doleful that it was scarcely worth 
listening to. Isabella, however, judging by her remark- 
able letters, was a severe critic, not only of the plays but 

256 



FETES IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR 

of all the festivities. The fourth moresca was danced by 
ten Moors holding burning tapers in their mouths. In 
the fifth there were ten fantastically dressed men with 
feathers on their heads, and bearing lances with small 
lighted torches at their tips. On the conclusion of the 
Epidicus there was a performance by several jugglers. 

Friday, February 4th, Lucretia did not appear until 
the afternoon. In the morning the duke showed his 
guests about the city, and they went to see a famous saint, 
Sister Lucia of Viterbo, whom the devout Ercole had 
brought to Ferrara as a great attraction. Every Friday the 
five wounds of Christ appeared on the body of this saint. 
She presented the ambassador of France with a rag with 
which she had touched her scars, and which Monseigneur 
Rocca Berti received with great respect. At the castle the 
duke showed his guests the artillery, to the study of which 
his son Alfonso was eagerly devoted. Here they waited for 
Lucretia, who, accompanied by all the ambassadors, soon ap- 
peared in the great salon. A dance was given which 
lasted until six in the evening. Then followed a presen- 
tation of the Bacchides which required five hours. Isa- 
bella found these performances excessively long and tire- 
some. Ballets similar to those which accompanied the 
Epidicus were given; men dressed in flesh-colored tights 
with torches in their hands, which diffused agreeable odors, 
danced fantastic figures, and engaged in a battle with a 
dragon. 

The following day Lucretia did not appear, as she was 
engaged in writing letters and in washing her hair, and the 
guests amused themselves by wandering about the city. No 
entertainments were given for the populace. The French 
ambassador, in the name of the King of France, sent pres- 
ents to the princes of the house. The duke received a 
17 257 



LUCEETIA BOEGIA 

golden shield with a picture of S. Francis in enamel, the 
work of a Parisian artist, which was highly valued ; to the 
hereditary Prince Alfonso was given a similar shield with 
a portrait of Mary of Magdala, the ambassador remarking 
that his Majesty had chosen a wife who resembled the 
Magdalene in character: Quae multum meruit, quia mul- 
tum credidit. Perhaps presenting Alfonso with a gift 
suggestive of the Magdalene was an intentional bit of irony 
on the part of the French king. In addition to this he 
received a written description of a process for casting can- 
non. A golden shield was likewise presented to Don Fer- 
rante. Lucretia's gift was a string of gold beads filled with 
musk, while her charming maid of honor, Angela, was hon- 
ored with a costly chain. 

Everything was done to flatter the French ambassador. 
He was invited to dinner in the evening by the Marchioness 
of Mantua, and was placed between his hostess and the 
Duchess of Urbino. The evening was passed, according to 
Cagnolo, in gallant and cultivated conversation. On leav- 
ing the table the marchioness sang the most beautiful songs 
to the accompaniment of the lute, for the entertainment of 
the French ambassador. After this she conducted him to 
her chamber, where, in the presence of two of her ladies-in- 
waiting, they held an animated conversation for almost an 
hour, at the conclusion of which she drew off her gloves and 
presented them to him, ' ' and the ambassador received them 
with assurances of his loyalty and his love, as they came 
from such a charming source; he told her that he would 
preserve them until the end of time, as a precious relic." 
"We may believe Cagnolo, for doubtless the fortunate ambas- 
sador regarded this memento of a beautiful woman as no 
less precious than the rag poor Saint Lucia had given him. 

Sunday, February 6th, there was a magnificent cere- 
258 



FETES IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR 

inony in the church ; one of the Pope 's chamberlains in the 
name of his Holiness presented Don Alfonso with a hat and 
also a sword which the Holy Father had blessed, and which 
the archbishop girded on him at the altar. In the afternoon 
the princes and the princesses of the house of Este went to 
Lucretia's apartments to fetch her to the banquet hall. 
They danced for two hours ; Lucretia herself, with one of 
her ladies-in-waiting, taking part in some French dances. 
In the evening the Miles Gloriosus was presented; it was 
followed by a moresca in which ten shepherds with horns on 
their heads fought with each other. 

February 7th there was a tourney in the piazza before 
the church between two mounted knights, one of whom was 
a native of Bologna and the other a citizen of Imola. No 
blood was shed. In the evening the Asinaria was presented, 
together with a wonderful moresca in which appeared four- 
teen satyrs, one of which carried a silvered ass's head in 
his hands, in which there was a music-box, to the strains 
of which the clowns danced. This play of the satyrs was 
followed by an interlude performed by sixteen vocalists, 
— men and women, — and a virtuoso from Mantua who 
played on three lutes. In conclusion there was a moresca 
in which was simulated the agricultural work of the peas- 
ants. The fields were prepared, the seed sown, the grain 
cut and threshed, and the harvest feast followed. Finally 
a native dance to the accompaniment of the bagpipe was 
executed. 

The last day of the festivities, February 8th, also marked 
the end of the carnival. The ambassadors, who were soon 
to depart, presented the bride with costly gifts consisting 
of beautiful stuffs and silverware. The most remarkable 
present was brought by the representatives of Venice. The 
Republic at its own expense had sent two noblemen to the 

259 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

festivities, Niecolo Dolfini and Andrea Foscolo, both of 
whom were magnificently clothed. In those days dress was 
as costly as it was beautiful, and the artists who made the 
clothes for the men and women of the Renaissance would 
look with contempt upon those of the present time, for in 
that aesthetic age their productions were works of art. The 
most magnificent stuffs, velvet, silk, and gold embroidery 
were used, and painters did not scorn to design the color 
schemes and the shapes and folds of the garments. Dress, 
therefore, was a most weighty consideration, and one to 
which great value was attached, as it indicated the import- 
ance of the wearer. All who have left accounts of the festiv- 
ities in Ferrara describe in detail the costumes worn on each 
occasion by Donna Lucretia and the other prominent 
women, and even those of the men. The reports which 
the Venetians sent home and the description in the diary of 
Marino Sanuto show how great was the importance at- 
tached to these matters. The following is even more 
striking evidence: before the two ambassadors of Venice 
set out for Ferrara they were required to appear before 
the whole senate in their robes of crimson velvet trimmed 
with fur, and wearing capes of similar material. More 
than four thousand persons were present in the great 
council hall, and the Piazza of S. Marco was crowded 
with people who gazed with wonder on these strange 
creatures. One of these robes contained thirty-two and 
the other twenty-eight yards of velvet.* Following the in- 
structions of the Seignory of Venice, the ambassadors 
sent their robes to Duchess Lucretia as a bridal gift.f 

* Despatch of the Ferrarese orator, Bartolomeo Cartari, to Ercole, 
Venice, January 25, 1502. Archives of Modena. 

f Cartari says in the same despatch that the robes he had described 
were intended for presents. Li Ambasciatori Veneziani le presentarono 

260 



FETES IN LUCRETIA'S HONOE 

This wonderful gift was presented in the most naive way- 
imaginable. One of the noble gentlemen delivered a Latin 
oration, and the other followed with a long discourse in 
Italian; thereupon they retired to an adjoining room, 
removed their magnificent robes, and sent them to the 
bride. This present and the pedantry of the two Vene- 
tians excited the greatest mirth at the Ferrarese court.* 

In the evening they danced for the last time, and at- 
tended the final theatrical performance, the Casina. Be- 
fore the comedy began, music composed by Rombonzino 
was rendered, and songs in honor of the young couple 
were sung. Everywhere throughout the Casina musical 
interludes were introduced. During the intermission six 
violinists, among them Don Alfonso, the hereditary prince, 
who was a magnificent amateur performer, played. The 
violin seems to have been held in great esteem in Ferrara, 
for when Csesar Borgia was about to set out for France he 
asked Duke Ercole for a violin player to accompany him, 
as they were much sought after in that country, f 

The ballet which followed was a dance of savages con- 
tending for the possession of a beautiful woman. Sud- 
denly the god of love appeared, accompanied by musi- 
cians, and set her free. Hereupon the spectators dis- 
covered a great globe which suddenly split in halves and 
began to give forth beautiful strains. In conclusion twelve 
Swiss armed with halberds and wearing their national 
colors entered, and executed an artistic dance, fencing the 
while. 

due vesti grandi in forma di palii velluto Cremesino foderati di ermelini, 
quali levatesi di sopra loro le presentarono. Cagnolo. 

* Ano dato materia di ridere ad hogni homo cum suo presente. The 
Marchesanaof Cotrone to the Marquis of Mantua, Ferrara, February 8th. 

f Violas arcu pulsantes. CaBsar Borgia to Ercole, Rome, September 
3, 1498. 

261 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

If this scene, as Cagnolo says, ended the dramatic per- 
formances we are forced to conclude that they were ex- 
ceedingly dull and spiritless. The moresca partook of the 
character of both the opera and ballet. It was the only 
new form of spectacle offered during all the festivities. 
Compared with those which were given in Rome on the 
occasion of Lucretia's betrothal, they were much inferior. 
Among the former we noticed several pastoral comedies 
with allegorical allusions to Lucretia, Ferrara, Caesar, and 
Alexander. 

In spite of the outlay the duke had made, his entertain- 
ments lacked novelty and variety, although they prob- 
ably pleased most of those present. Isabella, however, 
did not hesitate to mention the fact that she was bored. 
" In truth," so she wrote her husband, " the wedding 
was a very cold affair. It seems a thousand years before 
I shall be in Mantua again, I am so anxious to see your 
Majesty and my son, and also to get away from this 
place where I find absolutely no pleasure. Your Excel- 
lency, therefore, need not envy me my presence at this 
wedding; it is so stiff I have much more cause to envy 
those who remained in Mantua." Apparently the noble 
lady's opinion was influenced by the displeasure she still 
felt on account of her brother's marriage with Lucretia, 
but it may also have been due partly to the character of 
the festivities themselves, for the marchesa in all her letters 
complains of their being tiresome.* 

Soon after the conclusion of the festivities the 
marchioness returned to Mantua; her last letter from Fer- 
rara to her husband is dated February 9th. Her first 
letter from Mantua to her sister-in-law, which was writ- 
ten February 18th, is as follows: 

* See Isabella's letters of February 3d and 5th. 
262 



FETES IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR 

Illustrious Lady: The love which I feel for your 
Majesty, and my hope that you continue in the same good 
health in which you were at the time of my departure, 
cause me to believe that you have the same feelings for me ; 
therefore I inform you — hoping that it will be pleasant 
news to you — that I returned to this city on Monday in the 
best of health, and that I found my illustrious consort 
also well. There is nothing more for me to write but to 
ask your Majesty to tell me how you are, for I rejoice like 
an own sister in your welfare. Although I regard it as 
superfluous to offer you what belongs to you, I will remind 
you once for all, I and mine are ever at your disposal. I 
am also much beholden to you, and I ask you to remember 
me to your illustrious consort, my most honored brother. 

Lucretia replied to the marchioness's letter as follows: 

My Illustrious Lady, Sister-in-Law, and Most Hon- 
ored Sister: Although it was my duty to anticipate your 
Excellency in the proof of affection which you have given 
me, this neglect on my part only makes me all the more 
beholden to you. I can never tell you with what pleasure 
and relief I learned that you had reached Mantua safely 
and had found your illustrious husband well. May he and 
your Majesty, with God's help, continue to enjoy all happi- 
ness, and the increase of all good things, according to your 
desires. In obedience to your Majesty's commands I am 
compelled, and I also desire, to let you know that I, by 
God's mercy, am well, and shall ever be disposed to serve 
you. 

Your devoted sister, who is anxious to serve you, 
Lucrezia Estensis de Borgia.* 

Ferkaka, February 22, 1502. 

These letters, written with diplomatic cunning, are the 
beginning of the correspondence of these two famous 
women which was carried on for seventeen years, and 
which shows that Isabella's displeasure gradually passed 
away, and that she became a real friend of her sister- 
in-law. 

* Zuccheti reproduces the letter. 
263 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

The duke was heartily glad when his guests finally 
departed. Madonna Adriana, Girolama, and the woman 
described simply as "an Orsini " seemed in no haste to 
return to Rome. Alexander had instructed them to re- 
main until Csesar's wife arrived. They were to wait for 
her in Lombardy, and then accompany her to Rome. The 
Duchess of Romagna, however, in spite of the urgent re- 
quests of the nuncio, refused to leave France. Her brother, 
Cardinal d'Albret, reached Ferrara February 6th, and 
shortly afterwards set out for Rome. 

Adriana, as a near connection of the Pope and Lu- 
cretia, had been treated with the highest respect at Er- 
cole's court, where she had enjoyed a close intimacy with 
the Marchioness Isabella, as is shown by a letter which the 
latter addressed to Adriana, February 18th, the same 
day on which she wrote Lucretia. It is regarding a cer- 
tain person whom Adriana while in Ferrara had recom- 
mended to her in her own name and also in that of Donna 
Giulia. It, therefore, appears that the anonymous Orsini 
was not Giulia Farnese. 

Ercole was exceedingly anxious for the women to 
leave. In a letter, dated February 14th, to his ambas- 
sador in Rome, Costabili, he complains bitterly about their 
" useless " stay at his court. " I tell you," so he wrote, 
" that these women by remaining here cause a large num- 
ber of other persons, men as well as women, to linger, 
for all wish to depart at the same time, and it is a 
great burden and causes heavy expense. The retinue of 
these ladies, taken into consideration with the other 
people, numbers not far from four hundred and fifty per- 
sons and three hundred and fifty horses." Ercole in- 
structed his ambassador to inform the Pope of this, 
also to tell him that the supplies were about exhausted, 

264 



FETES IN LUCEETIA'S HONOR 

and that the Duchess of Romagna would not arrive before 
Easter, and that he could stand the expense no longer, as 
the wedding festivities had already cost twenty-five thou- 
sand ducats. The Pope should therefore direct the ladies 
to return. In a postscript to the same letter the duke 
says: " After the noble ladies of the Duchess of Romagna 
had been here twelve days, I sent them away because they 
were impertinent, and because their presence would not do 
his Holiness or the duchess any good. ' ' * 

The troublesome women finally departed. There is a 
despatch of the orator Girarclo Saraceni, dated Rome, May 
4th, in which he informs the duke that Monsignor Venosa 
and Donna Adriana had returned from Ferrara, and had 
expressed to the Pope their gratitude for the affectionate 
reception which had been accorded them. 

February 14th Ercole wrote the Pope a letter whose 
meaning is perfectly clear, if we eliminate one or two 
phrases. 

Holy Father and Master: Before the illustrious 
Duchess, our daughter, came here, it was my firm deter- 
mination to receive her, as was meet, with all friendliness 
and honor, and to show her in every way how great was 
the affection I felt for her. Now that her Majesty is here, 
I am so pleased with her on account of the virtues and 
good qualities which I have discovered in her that I am 
not only strengthened in that determination, but also am 
resolved to do even more than I had intended, and all the 
more because your Holiness has asked me to do so in the 
autographic letter which you wrote me. Your Holiness 
need have no fears, for I shall treat the Duchess in such a 
way that your Holiness will see that I regard her as the 
most precious jewel I have in the world. 

* P.S. Li gentilhomini de lo IU mo - Sig. Duca de Romagna poiche 
sono stati qui XII giorni sono stati da me licentiate per essere imper- 
tinente e senza fructo alcuno a la Santita de N.S. et alio Ill mo - Sig. Duca 
de Romagna. Minute Ducali a Costabili Beltrando, February 14, 1502. 

265 



CHAPTER IV 

THE ESTE DYNASTY — DESCRIPTION OF FERRARA 

On entering the castle of the Este, Lucretia found a 
new environment, new interests — one might almost say a 
new world. She was a princess in one of the most impor- 
tant Italian States, and in a strange city, which, during the 
latter half of the century, had assumed a place of the first 
importance, for the spirit of Italian culture had there 
developed new forms. She had been received with the 
highest honors into a family famous and princely; one of 
the oldest and most brilliant in the peninsula. It was a 
piece of supreme good fortune that had brought her to 
this house, and now she would endeavor to make herself 
worthy of it. 

The family of Este, next to that of Savoy, was the 
oldest and most illustrious in Italy, and it forced the lat- 
ter into the background by assuming the important posi- 
tion which the State of Ferrara, owing to its geographical 
position, afforded it. 

The history of the Este is briefly as follows: 

These lords, whose name is derived from a small castle 
between Padua and Ferrara, and who first appeared about 
the time of the Lombard invasion, were descended from a 
family whose remote ancestor was one Albert. The names 
Adalbert and Albert assume in Italian the form Oberto, 
from which we have the diminutives Obizzo and Azzo. In 
the tenth century there appears a Marquis Oberto who 

266 



THE ESTE DYNASTY 

was first a retainer of King Berengar and later of Otto the 
Great. It is not known from what domain he and his im- 
mediate successors derived their title of marquis; they 
were, however, powerful lords in Lombardy as well as in 
Tuscany. One of Oberto's ancestors, Alberto Azzo II, 
who is originally mentioned as Marchio de Longobardia, 
governed the territory from Mantua to the Adriatic and 
the region about the Po, where he owned Este and Ro- 
vigo. He married Kunigunde, sister of Count Guelf III 
of Swabia, and in this way the famous German family 
of Guelf became connected with the Oberti and drawn 
into Italian politics. When Alberto Azzo died in the year 
1096 — more than a hundred years old — he left two sons, 
Guelf and Folco, who were the founders of the house of 
Este in Italy and the Guelf house of Braunschweig in 
Germany, for Guelf inherited the property of his ma- 
ternal grandfather, Guelf III, in whom the male line of 
the house became extinct in the year 1055. He went to 
Germany, where he became Duke of Bavaria and founded 
the Guelf line. 

Folco inherited his father's Italian possessions, and in 
the great struggle of the German emperor with the papacy, 
the Margraves of Este were aggressive and determined sol- 
diers. At first they were simply members of the Guelf fac- 
tion, but subsequently they became its leaders, and thus 
were able to establish their power in Ferrara. 

The origin of the city is lost in the mists of antiquity. 
By the gift of Pipin and Charles it passed to the Church. 
It was also included in the deed of Matilda. In the war 
between the Pope and the Emperor, occasioned by this gift 
of Matilda, Ferrara succeeded in regaining its independ- 
ence as a republic. 

The Este first appeared there about the end of the 

267 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

twelfth century. Folco's grandson, Azzo V, married 
Marchesella Adelardi, who was the heir of the leader of 
the Guelfs in that city, where Salinguerra was the head of 
the Ghibellines. From that time the Margraves of Este 
possessed great influence in Ferrara. They were likewise 
leaders of the Guelf party in the north of Italy. 

In the year 1208 Azzo VI succeeded in driving Salin- 
guerra out of Ferrara, and the city having wearied of the 
long feud made the victor its hereditary Podesta. This 
is the first example of a free republic voluntarily submit- 
ting to a lord. In this way the Este established the 
first tyranny on the ruins of a commune. The brave 
Salinguerra, one of the greatest captains of Italy in the 
time of the Hohenstaufen, repeatedly drove Azzo VI and 
his successor, Azzo VII, from Ferrara, but he himself was 
finally defeated in 1240 and cast into prison, where he died. 
Thenceforth the Este ruled Ferrara. 

About the time of the removal of the papacy to 
Avignon they were expelled from the city by the Church, 
but they returned on the invitation of the citizens who 
had risen against the papal legate. John XXII issued a 
diploma of investiture by the terms of which they were to 
hold Ferrara as a fief of the Church on payment of an 
annual tribute of ten thousand gold ducats. The Este now 
set themselves up as tyrants in Ferrara, and in spite of 
numerous wars maintained the dynasty for a great many 
years. This dominion was not, like that in many other 
Italian States, due to a lucky stroke on the part of an up- 
start, but it was ancient, hereditary, and firmly estab- 
lished. 

It was due to a succession of remarkable princes, begin- 
ning with Aldobrandino, Lord of Ferrara, Modena, Ro- 
vigo, and Comacchio, that Ferrara succeeded in winning 

268 



THE ESTE DYNASTY 

the important position she held at the beginning of the 
sixteenth century. Aldobrandino was followed by his 
brothers, Niecolo, from 1361 to 1388, and Alberto until 
1393. After that his son Niecolo III, a powerful and 
bellicose man, ruled until the year 1441. As his legitimate 
children Ercole and Sigismondo were minors, he was suc- 
ceeded by his natural son Lionello. This prince not only 
continued the work begun by his father, but also beauti- 
fied Ferrara. In the year 1444 the great Alfonso of 
Naples gave him his daughter Maria as wife, and the Este 
thus entered into close relations with the royal house of 
Aragon. Lionello was intelligent and liberal, a patron of 
all the arts and sciences, a " prince of immortal name." 
In the year 1450 he was succeeded by his brother Borso, ille- 
gitimate like himself, as an effort was being made to dis- 
place the legitimate sons of Niecolo II. 

Borso was one of the most magnificent princes of his 
age. Frederick II, when he stopped in Ferrara on his 
return from his coronation in Rome, made him Duke of 
Modena and Reggio, and Count of Rovigo and Comacchio, 
all of which territories belonged to the empire. The Este 
thereupon adopted for their arms, instead of the white 
eagle they had hitherto borne, the black eagle of the empire, 
to which were added the lilies of France, the use of which 
had been granted them by Charles VII. April 14, 1471, 
Paul VII in Rome created Borso Duke of Ferrara. Soon 
after this — May 27th — this celebrated prince died un- 
married and childless. 

He was succeeded by Ercole, the legitimate son of Nie- 
colo II, the direct line of the Este thereby reacquiring the 
government of Ferrara, the importance of the State having 
been greatly increased by the efforts of the two ille- 
gitimate sons. In June, 1473, amid magnificent festivi- 

269 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ties, Ercole married Eleonora of Aragon, daughter of Fer- 
dinand of Naples. Twenty-nine years — years of conflict — 
had passed when the second Duke of Ferrara married his 
son to Lucretia with similar pomp. By putting an end to 
the war with Venice and Pope Sixtus IV, in the year 1482, 
Ercole had succeeded in saving his State from the great 
danger which threatened it, although he had been forced to 
relinquish certain territory to the Venetians. This danger, 
however, might arise again, for Venice and the Pope con- 
tinued to be Ferrara 's bitterest enemies. Political con- 
siderations, therefore, compelled her to form an alliance 
with France, whose king already owned Milan and might 
permanently secure possession of Naples. For the same 
reason he had married his son to Lucretia on the best terms 
he was able to make. She, therefore, must have been 
conscious of her great importance to the State of Ferrara, 
and this it was which gave her a sense of security with re- 
gard to the noble house to which she now belonged. 

The Duke presented the young couple Castle Vecchio 
for their residence, and there Lucretia established her 
court. This stronghold, which is still in existence, is one of 
the most imposing monuments of the Middle Ages. It over- 
looks all Ferrara, and may be seen for miles around. Its 
dark red color; its gloominess, which is partly due to its 
architectural severity ; its four mighty towers — all combine 
to cause a feeling of fear, especially on moonlight nights, 
when the shadows of the towers fall on the water in the 
moat, which still surrounds the castle as in days of old. 
The figures of the great ones who once lived in the strong- 
hold — Ugo and Parisina Malatesta, Borso, Lucretia Borgia 
and Alfonso, Renee of France, and Calvin, Ariosto, Alfonso 
II, the unfortunate Tasso and Eleonora — seem to rise be- 
fore the beholder. 

270 



DESCRIPTION OF FEERARA 

The Marchese Niccold, owing to an uprising of the citi- 
zens, began Castle Vecchio in the year 1385, and his suc- 
cessor completed it and decorated the interior. It is con- 
nected by covered passage-ways with the palace opposite 
the church. Before Ercole extended Ferrara on the north, 
the castle marked the boundary of the city. One of the 
towers, called the Tower of the Lions, protected the city 
gate. A branch of the Po, which at that time flowed near 
by, supplied the moat — over which there were several 
drawbridges — with water. 

In Lucretia's time only the main features of the strong- 
hold were the same as they are now ; the cornices of the tow- 
ers are of a later date, and the towers themselves were some- 
what lower; the walls were embattled like those of the 
Gonzaga castle in Mantua. Cannon, cast under the direc- 
tion of Alfonso, were placed at various points. There is 
an interior quadrangular court with arcades, and there 
Lucretia was shown the place where Niccolo II had caused 
his son Ugo and his stepmother, the beautiful Parisina, to 
be beheaded. This gruesome deed was a warning to Alex- 
ander's daughter to be true to her husband. 

A wide marble stairway led to the two upper stories 
of the castle, one of which, the lower, consisting of a series 
of chambers and salons, was set aside for the princes. In 
the course of time this has suffered so many changes that 
even those most thoroughly acquainted with Ferrara do not 
know just where Lucretia's apartments were.* Very few 
of the paintings with which the Este adorned the castle 

* Cittadella (Guida del Forestiere in Ferrara, Ferrara, 1873) ridicules 
the story of the looking-glass that disclosed the love of Ugo and Parisina. 
See his Castello di Ferrara, Turin, 1873, and the description of the castle 
in the Notizie storico-artistiche sui primarii palazzi d'ltalia, Firenze, 
Cennini, 1871. 

271 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

are left. There are still some frescoes by Dossi and another 
unknown master. 

The castle was always a gloomy and oppressive resi- 
dence. It was in perfect accord with the character of Fer- 
rara, which even now is forbidding. Standing on the 
battlements, and looking across the broad, highly culti- 
vated, but monotonous fields, whose horizon is not at- 
tractive, because the Veronese Alps are too far distant, 
and the Apennines, which are closer, are not clearly de- 
fined; and gazing down upon the black mass of the city 
itself, one wonders how Ariosto's exuberant creation could 
have been produced here. Greater inspiration would be 
found in the sky, the land, and the sea of idyllic Sorrento, 
which was Tasso's birthplace, but this is only another 
proof of the theory that the poet 's fancy is independent of 
his environment. 

Ferrara is situated in an unhealthful plain which is 
traversed by a branch of the Po and several canals. The 
principal stream does not contribute to the life of the city 
or its suburbs, as it is several miles distant. The town is 
surrounded by strong walls in which are four gates. In ad- 
dition to Castle Vecchio on the north, there was, in Lu- 
cretia's time, another at the southwest — Castle Tealto or 
Tedaldo — which was situated on one of the branches of the 
Po, and which had a gate opening into the city and a pon- 
toon bridge connecting it with the suburb S. Giorgio. Lu- 
cretia had entered by this gate. Nothing is now left of 
Castle Tedaldo, as it was razed at the beginning of the 
seventeenth century, when the Pope, having driven out 
Alfonso's successors, erected the new fortress. 

Ferrara has a large public square, and regular streets 
with arcades. The church, which faces the principal 
piazza, and which was consecrated in the year 1135, is an 

272 



DESCRIPTION OF FERRARA 

imposing structure in the Lombardo-Gothic style. Its 
high facade is divided in three parts and gabled, and it 
has three rows of half Roman and half Gothic arches 
supported on columns. With its ancient sculptures, black 
with time, it presents a strange appearance of mediaeval 
originality and romance. In Ferrara there is now nothing 
else so impressive on first sight as this church. It seems 
as if one of the structures of Ariosto's fairy world had 
suddenly risen before us. Opposite one side of the castle, 
the Palazzo del Ragione is still standing, and there are also 
two old towers, one of which is called the Rigobello. Op- 
posite the facade was the Este palace in which Ercole lived, 
and which Eugene IV occupied when he held the famous 
council in Ferrara. In front of it rose the monuments of 
the two great princes of the house of Este, Niccolo III and 
Borso. One is an equestrian statue, the other a sitting fig- 
ure; both were placed upon columns, and therefore are 
small. The crumbling pillars by the entrance archway are 
still standing, but the statues were destroyed in 1796. 

The Este vied with the other princes and republics in 
building churches and convents, of which Ferrara still 
possesses a large number. In the year 1500 the most im- 
portant were: S. Domenico, S. Francesco, S. Maria in 
Vado, S. Antonio, S. Giorgio before the Porta Romana, the 
convent Corpus Domini, and the Certosa. All have been 
restored more or less, and although some of them are 
roomy and beautiful, none have any special artistic indi- 
viduality. 

As early as the fifteenth century there were numerous 
palaces in Ferrara which are still numbered among the at- 
tractions of the gloomy city, and which are regarded as im- 
portant structures in the history of architecture, from the 
early Renaissance until the appearance of the rococo style. 
18 273 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Many of them, however, are in a deplorable state of decay. 
Marchese Alberto built the Palazzo del Paradiso (now the 
University) and Schifanoja at the end of the sixteenth cen- 
tury. Ercole erected the Palazzo Pareschi. He also restored 
a large part of Ferrara and extended the city by adding a 
new quarter on the north, the Addizione Erculea, which is 
still the handsomest part of Ferrara. The city is traversed 
by two long, wide streets — the Corso di Porta Po, with its 
continuation, the Corso di Porta Mare, and the Strada 
dei Piopponi. Strolling through these quiet streets one is 
astonished at the long rows of beautiful palaces of the 
Renaissance, reminders of a teeming life now passed away. 
Ercole laid out a large square which is surrounded by noble 
palaces, and which is now known as the Piazza Ariostea, 
from the monument of the great poet which stands in the 
center. This is, doubtless, the most beautiful memorial 
ever erected to a poet. The marble statue stands upon a 
high column and looks down upon the entire city. The 
history of the monument is interesting. Originally it was 
intended that an equestrian statue of Ercole on two columns 
should occupy this position. "When the columns were 
being brought down the Po on a raft, one of them rolled 
overboard and was lost; the other was used in the year 
1675 to support the statue of Pope Alexander VII, which 
was pulled down during the revolution of 1796 and re- 
placed with a statue of Liberty, the unveiling of which 
was attended by General Napoleon Bonaparte. Three 
years later the Austrians overthrew the statue of Liberty, 
leaving the column standing, and in the year 1810 
a statue of the Emperor Napoleon was placed upon it. 
This fell with the emperor. In the year 1833 Ferrara set 
Ariosto's statue upon the column, where it will remain in 
spite of all political change. 

274 



DESCRIPTION OF FERRARA 

Magnificent palaces rose in Ercole's new suburb. His 
brother Sigismondo erected the splendid Palazzo Diamanti, 
now Ferrara's art gallery, while the Trotti, Castelli, Sacrati, 
and Bevilacqua families built palaces there which are still 
in existence. Ferrara was the home of a wealthy nobility, 
some of whom belonged to the old baronial families. In 
addition there were the Contrarii, Pio, Costabili, the 
Strozzi, Saraceni, Boschetti, the Roverella, the Muzzarelli, 
and Pendaglia. 

The Ferrarese aristocracy had long ago emerged from 
the state of municipal strife and feudal dependence, and 
had set up their courts. The Este, especially the warlike 
Niccolo III, had subjugated the barons, who originally 
lived upon their estates beyond the city walls, and who 
were now in the service of the ruling family, holding 
the most important court and city offices; they were also 
commanders in the army. They took part, probably 
more actively than did the nobility of the other Italian 
States, in the intellectual movement of the age, which was 
fostered by the princes of the house of Este. Consequently 
many of these great lords won prominent places in the his- 
tory of literature in Ferrara. 

The university, which had flourished there since the 
middle of the fifteenth century, was, excepting those of 
Padua and Bologna, the most famous in Italy. Founded 
by the Margrave Alberto in 1391, and subsequently re- 
modeled by Niccolo III, it reached the zenith of its fame 
in the time of Lionello and Borso. The former was a pupil 
of the celebrated Guarino of Verona, and was himself 
acquainted with all the sciences. The friend and idol of 
the humanists of his age, he collected rare manuscripts and 
disseminated copies of them. He founded the library, and 
Borso continued the work begun by him. 

275 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

As early as 1474 the University of Ferrara had forty- 
five well paid professors, and Ercole increased their num- 
ber. Printing was introduced during his reign. The 
earliest printer in Ferrara after 1471 was the Frenchman 
Andreas, called Belforte.* 

Like the city, the people seemed to have been of a 
serious cast of mind, which led to speculation, criticism, 
and the cultivation of the exact sciences. From Ferrara 
came Savonarola, the fanatical prophet who appeared dur- 
ing the moral blight which characterized the age of the 
Borgias, and Lucretia must frequently have recalled this 
man in whom her father, by the executioner's hand, sought 
to stifle the protestations of the faithful and upright 
against the immorality of his rule. 

Astronomy and mathematics, and especially the natural 
sciences and medicine, which at that time were part of the 
school of philosophy, were extensively cultivated in Fer- 
rara. It is stated that Savonarola himself had studied 
medicine; his grandfather Michele, a famous physician of 
Padua, had been called to Ferrara by Niccolo II. \ Nic- 
colo Leoniceno, a native of Vincenza, at whose feet many 
of the most famous scholars and poets had sat, enjoyed 
great renown in Ferrara about 1464 as a physician, mathe- 
matician, philosopher, and philologist. He was still the 
pride of the city when Lucretia arrived there, as the great 
mathematician, Domenico Maria Novara, was then teach- 
ing in Bologna, where Copernicus had been his pupil. 

Many famous humanists, who at the time of Lucretia 's 
arrival were still children or youths — for example, the Gi- 
raldi and genial Celio Calcagnini, who dedicated an epitha- 
lamium to her on her appearance in the city — were mem- 

* Luigi Napoleone Cittadella, La Stampa in Ferrara. Ferrara, 1873. 
f See first part of Villari's well known biography of Savonarola. 

276 



DESCRIPTION OF FERRARA 

bers of the Ferrarese university. All of these men were 
welcome at the court of the Este because they were accom- 
plished and versatile. It was not until later, after the 
sciences had been classified and their boundaries defined, 
that the graceful learning of the humanists degenerated 
into pedantry. 

It was, however, especially the art of poetry which 
gave Ferrara, in Lucretia's time, a peculiarly romantic 
cast. This it was which first attracted attention to the 
city as one of the main centers of the intellectual move- 
ment. Ferrara produced numerous poets who composed in 
both tongues — Latin and Italian. Almost all the scholars 
of the day wrote Latin verses; most of them, however, it 
must be admitted, were lacking in poetic fire. Some of 
the Ferrarese, however, rose to high positions in poetry 
and are still remembered ; preeminent were the two Strozzi, 
father and son, and Antonio Tebaldeo. The poets, how- 
ever, who originated the romantic epic in Italian were 
much more important than the writers of Latin verse. 
The brilliant and sensuous court of Ferrara, together with 
the fascinating romance of the house of Este — which really 
belongs to the Middle Ages — and the charming nobility and 
modern chivalry, all contributed to the production of the 
epic, while the city of Ferrara, with its eventful history 
and its striking style of architecture, was a most favorable 
soil for it. Monuments of Roman antiquity are as rare in 
Ferrara as they are in Florence; everything is of the 
Middle Ages. Lucretia did not meet Bojardo, the famous 
author of the Orlando Inamorato, at the court of his friend 
Ercole, but the blind singer of the Mambriano, Francesco 
Cieco, probably was still living. We have seen how 
Ariosto, who was soon to eclipse all his predecessors, greeted 
Lucretia on her arrival. 

277 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

The graphic arts had made much less progress in Fer- 
rara than had poetry and the sciences; but while no 
master of the first rank, no Raphael' or Titian appeared, 
there were, nevertheless, some who won a not unimportant 
place in the history of Italian culture. The Este were 
patrons of painting ; they had their palaces decorated with 
frescoes, some of which, still considered noteworthy on 
account of their originality, are preserved in the Palazzo 
Schifanoja, where they were rediscovered in the year 1840. 
About the middle of the fifteenth century, Ferrara had its 
own school, the chief of which was Cosimo Tura. It pro- 
duced two remarkable painters, Dosso Dossi and Benvenuto 
Tisio, the latter of whom, under the name of Garofalo,. be- 
came famous as one of Raphael's greatest pupils. The 
works of these artists, who were Lucretia's contemporaries — 
Garofalo being a year younger — still adorn many of the 
churches, and are the chief attractions in the galleries of 
the city. 

Such, broadly sketched, was the intellectual life of Fer- 
rara in the year 1502. We, therefore, see that in addition 
to her brilliant court and her political importance as the 
capital of the State, she possessed a highly developed 
spiritual life. The chroniclers state that her population at 
that time numbered a hundred thousand souls; and at the 
beginning of the sixteenth century — her most flourishing 
period — she was probably more populous than Rome. In 
addition to the nobility there was an active bourgeoisie en- 
gaged in commerce and manufacturing, especially weaving, 
who enjoyed life. 



278 




BENVENUTO GAROFALO. 
From an engraving; by G. Batt. Cecchi. 



CHAPTER V 



DEATH OP ALEXANDER VI 



Alexander carefully followed everything that took 
place in Ferrara. He never lost sight of his daughter. 
She and his agents reported every mark of favor or dis- 
favor which she received. Following the excitement of 
the wedding festivities there were painful days for Lu- 
cretia, as she was forced to meet envy and contempt, and 
to win for herself a secure place at the court. 

Alexander was greatly pleased by her reports, espe- 
cially those concerning her relations with Alfonso. He 
never for a moment supposed that the hereditary prince 
loved his daughter. All he required was that he should 
treat her as his wife, and that she should become the 
mother of a prince. With great satisfaction he remarked 
to the Ferrarese ambassador on hearing that Alfonso spent 
his nights with Lucretia, " During the day he goes wher- 
ever he likes, as he is young, and in doing this he does 
right."* 

Alexander also induced the duke to grant his daughter- 
in-law a larger allowance than he had agreed to give her. 
The sum stipulated was six thousand ducats. Lucretia 
was extravagant, and needed a large income. The amount 

* Maxime intendendo che continuano dormire insieme la nocte. Se 
ben intende ch'el Sig. Don Alfonso el di va a piacere in diversi loci come 
giovene; il quale, dice S. Sta. fa molto bene. Beltrando Costabili to the 
duke, Rome, April 1, 1502. 

279 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

she received from her father-in-law did not, however, ex- 
ceed ten thousand ducats. 

In the meantime Caesar was pursuing his own schemes, 
the success of which was apparently insured by his alliance 
with Ferrara and the sanction of France. The youthful 
Astorre Manfredi having been strangled in the castle of 
S. Angelo by his orders, Valentino set out for Romagna, 
June 13th, where he succeeded in ensnaring the unsuspect- 
ing Guidobaldo of Urbino and in seizing his estates, June 
21st. Guidobaldo fled and found an asylum in Mantua, 
whence he and his wife eventually went to Venice. 

Caesar now turned toward Camerino, where he sur- 
prised the Varano, destroying all but one of them. He 
reported these doings to the court of Ferrara, and the 
duke did not hesitate to congratulate him for a crime 
which had resulted in the overthrow of princes who were 
not only friendly to himself but were also closely con- 
nected with him. From Urbino Caesar wrote his sister as 
follows : 

Illustrious Lady and Dearest Sister: I know 
nothing could be better medicine for your Excellency in 
your present illness than the good news which I have to 
impart. I must tell you that I have just had information 
that Camerino will yield. We trust that on receiving this 
news your condition will rapidly improve, and that you 
will inform us at once of it. For your indisposition pre- 
vents us from deriving any pleasure from this and other 
news. We ask you to tell the illustrious Duke Don Alfonso, 
your husband, our brother-in-law, at once, as, owing to want 
of time, we have not been able to write him direct. 

Your Majesty's brother, who loves you better than he 
does himself, C^sar. 

Urbino, July 20, 1502. 

Shortly after this he surprised his sister by visiting 
her in the palace of Belfiore, whither he came in disguise 

280 



-*-»»V»f t». £\^ 



<qxtJl pen*? ct^rti^yrrrf AH frpr ^rbyyofo 
l) >Zrr> yffi (4 o^/fagrn ^/V &M en* VW \?flf\ , 

Reduced facsimile of a letter written by Alexander VI to his daughter, 

Lucretia. 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

with five cavaliers. He remained with her scarcely two 
hours, and then hastily departed, accompanied by his broth- 
er-in-law Alfonso as far as Modena, intending to go to the 
King of France, who was in Lombardy. 

In the meantime Alexander had arrived at a decision 
regarding the seizure of Camerino which conflicted with 
Caesar's plans, and which shows that the father's will was 
not wholly under his son's control. September 2, 1502, 
Alexander bestowed Camerino as a duchy upon the In- 
fante Giovanni Borgia, whom he sometimes described as 
his own son and at others as Caesar's. Giovanni had al- 
ready been invested with the title of Nepi, and Francesco 
Borgia, Cardinal of Cosenza, as the child's guardian, ad- 
ministered these estates. There are coins of this ephemeral 
Duke of Camerino still in existence.* 

September 5th Lucretia gave birth to a still-born 
daughter, to the great disappointment of Alexander, who 
desired an heir to the throne. She was sick unto death, 
and her husband showed the deepest concern, seldom leav- 
ing her for a moment. September 7th Valentino came to 
see her. The secretary Castellus sent a report of this 
visit to Ercole, who was in Reggio, whither he had gone 
to meet Caesar, who was returning from Lombardy. " To- 
day," he wrote, " at the twentieth hour, we bled Madama 
on the right foot. It was exceedingly difficult to accomplish 
it, and we could not have done it but for the Duke of Ro- 

* Silver carlins. Obverse: JOANNES. BOR. DVX. CAMERINI ; the 
Borgia arms surrounded with lilies and the crest of the Lenzuoli. Re- 
verse: S. VENANTIVS DE CAMERI. They are described in the Perio- 
dico di Numismatica e Sfragistica per la Storia d'ltalia diretto dal 
March. C. Strozzi, Flor. 1870, A. Ill, Pascic. ii, 70-77, by G. Amati, 
and also in A. IV, fasc. vi, 259-265, by M. Santoni. Both writers er- 
roneously describe this Giov. Borgia as the son of the Duke of Gandia, 
and Amati even confuses Valence in Dauphine with Valencia in Spain. 

282 



DEATH OF ALEXANDER VI 

magna, who held her foot. Her Majesty spent two hours 
with the duke, who made her laugh and cheered her 
greatly." Lucretia had a codicil added to her will, 
which she had made before leaving for Ferrara, in the 
presence of her brother's secretary and some monks. She, 
however, recovered. Caesar remained with her two days 
and then departed for Imola. When Ercole returned he 
found his daughter-in-law attended by Alexander's most 
skilful physician, the Bishop of Venosa, and out of all 
danger.* 

As Lucretia felt oppressed in Castle Vecchio, and 
yearned for the free air, she removed October 8th, accom- 
panied by the entire court, to the convent of Corpus Do- 
mini. Her recovery was so rapid that she was able again 
to take up her residence in the castle, October 22d, to the 
great joy of every one, as Duke Ercole wrote to Rome. 
Alfonso even went to Loretto in fulfilment of a vow he . 
had made for the recovery of his wife. The solicitude 
which was displayed for Lucretia on this occasion shows 
that she had begun to make herself beloved in Ferrara. f 

In this same month of October occurred the disaffec- 
tion of Caesar's condottieri which nearly ended in his over- 
throw. In consequence of the desertion of his generals, 
the country about Urbino rose, and Guidobaldo even suc- 
ceeded in reentering his capital city, October 18th. The 
protection of France and the lack of decision on the part 
of his enemies, however, saved the Duke of Romagna from 
the danger which threatened him. December 31st he re- 
lieved himself of the barons by the well-known coup of 

* In the state archives of Modena there are several letters regarding 
Lucretia's illness written by the Ferrarese physicians Ludovicus Carrus 
and J. Castellus. 

f The duke to Costabili, his ambassador in Rome, October 9-23, 
1502. 

283 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Sinigaglia. This was his masterstroke. He had Vitellozzo 
and Oliverotto strangled forthwith; the Orsini — Paolo, 
father-in-law of Girolama Borgia, and Francesco, Duke of 
Gravina, who had once been mentioned as a possible hus- 
band for Lucretia — suffered the same fate January 18, 
1503. 

The Duke of Ferrara congratulated Csesar, as did also 
the Gonzaga. Even Isabella did not hesitate to write a 
graceful letter to the man that had driven her dear sister- 
in-law, — whose husband had been forced to flee a second 
time, — from Urbino. The Gonzaga, who were anxious to 
marry the little hereditary Prince Federico to his daughter 
Luisa, were endeavoring to secure this end with the help 
of Francesco Trochio in Rome. Isabella's contemptible 
letter to Caesar is as follows : 

To His Highness, the Duke op Valentino. 

Illustrious Sir : The happy progress of which your Ex- 
cellency has been good enough to inform us in your amiable 
letter has caused us all the liveliest joy, owing to the friend- 
ship and interest which you and my illustrious husband 
feel for each other. We, therefore, congratulate you in his 
and our own name for the good fortune which has befallen 
you, and for your safety, and we thank you for informing 
us of it and for your offer to keep us advised of future 
events, which we hope will be no less favorable, for, loving 
you as we do, we hope to hear from you often regarding 
your plans so that we may be able to rejoice with you at 
the success and advancement of your Excellency. Believ- 
ing that you, after the excitement and fatigue which you 
have suffered while engaged in your glorious undertakings, 
will be disposed to give some time to recreation, it seems 
proper to me to send you by our courier, Giovanni, a hun- 
dred masks. We, of course, know how slight is this present 
in proportion to the greatness of your Excellency, and 
also in proportion to 'our desires; still it indicates that if 
there were anything more worthy and more suitable in 
this our country, we certainly would send it you. If the 

284 



DEATH OF ALEXANDER VI 

masks, however, are not as beautiful as they ought to be, 
your Highness will know that this is due to the makers in 
Ferrara, who, as it has been for years against the law to 
wear masks, long ago ceased making them. May, however, 
our good intentions and our love make up for their short- 
comings. So far as our own affairs are concerned there is 
nothing new to tell you until your Excellency informs us 
as to the decision of his Holiness, our Master, concerning 
the articles of guaranty upon which we, through Brognolo, 
have agreed. We, therefore, look forward to this, and hope 
to reach a satisfactory conclusion. We commend ourselves 
to your service. 

January 15, 1503. 

Caesar replied to the marchioness from Aquapendente 
as follows: 

Most Illustrious Lady, Friend, and Honored Sister : 
We have received your Excellency's present of the hundred 
masks, which, owing to their diversity and beauty, are very 
welcome, and because the time and place of their arrival 
could not have been more propitious. If we neglected to 
inform your Excellency of all our plans and of our in- 
tended return to Rome, it was because it was only to-day 
that we succeeded in taking the city and territory ad- 
jacent to Sinigaglia together with the fortress, and pun- 
ished our enemies for their treachery; freed Citta di 
Castello, Fermo, Cisterna, Montone, and Perugia from 
their tyrants, and rendered them again subject to his Holi- 
ness, our Master ; and deposed Pandolf o Petrucci from the 
tyranny which he had established in Siena, where he had 
shown himself such a determined enemy of ourselves. The 
masks are welcome especially because I know that the 
present is due to the affection which you and your illus- 
trious husband feel for us, which is also shown by the letter 
which you send with it. Therefore we thank you a thousand 
times, although the magnitude of your and your husband's 
deserts exceeds the power of words. We shall use the 
masks, and they are so beautiful that we shall be saved the 
trouble of providing ourselves with any other adornment. 
On returning to Rome we will see that his Holiness, our 

285 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Master, does whatever is necessary to further our mutual 
interests. We, in compliance with your Excellency's re- 
quest, will grant the prisoner his liberty. We will inform 
your Illustrious Majesty at once, so that you may rejoice 
in it the moment he is free. We commend ourselves to you. 
From the papal camp near Aquapendente, February 1st. 
Your Excellency's friend and brother, the Duke of Ro- 
magna, etc. 

Cesar. 

Caesar was then near the zenith of his desires — a king's 
throne in central Italy. This project, however, was never 
realized; Louis XII forbade him further conquests. The 
Orsini (the cardinal of this house had just been poisoned 
in the castle of S. Angelo) and other barons whose estates 
were in the vicinity of Rome rose for a final struggle, and 
Caesar was compelled to hasten back to the papal city. 
Alexander and his son now turned toward Spain, as Gon- 
salvo had defeated the French in Naples and had entered 
the capital of the kingdom May 14th. Louis XII, how- 
ever, despatched a new army under La Tremouille to recap- 
ture Naples. The Marquis of Mantua was likewise in his 
pay, and in August, 1503, the army entered the Patri- 
monium Petri. 

Alexander and Caesar were suddenly taken sick at the 
same moment. The Pope died August 18th. It has been 
affirmed and also denied that both were poisoned, and 
proofs equally good in support of both views have been 
adduced; it is, therefore, a mooted question. 

Aside from her grief due to affection, the death of Lu- 
cretia's father was a serious event for her, as it might 
weaken her position in Ferrara. Alexander's power was 
all that had given her a sense of security, and now she 
could no longer feel certain of the continuance of the 
affection of her father-in-law or of that of her husband. 

286 



DEATH OF ALEXANDER VI 

Well might Alfonso now recall the words Louis XII had 
uttered to the effect that on the death of Alexander he 
would not know who the lady was whom he had married. 
The king one day asked the Ferrarese plenipotentiary at his 
court how Madonna Lucretia had taken the Pope's death. 
When the ambassador replied that he did not know, Louis 
remarked, " I know that you were never satisfied with 
this marriage ; this Madonna Lucretia is not Don Alfonso 's 
real wife. ' ' * 

Lucretia would have been frightened had she read a 
letter which Ercole wrote to Giangiorgio Seregni, then his 
ambassador in Milan, which at that time was under 
French control, and in which he disclosed his real feelings 
on the Pope's demise. 

Giangiorgio : Knowing that many will ask you how we 
are affected by the Pope's death, this is to inform you that 
he was in no way displeasing to us. At one time we wished, 
for the honor of God, our Master, and for the general good 
of Christendom, that God in his goodness and foresight 
would provide a worthy shepherd, and that his Church 
would be relieved of this great scandal. Personally we had 
nothing to wish for; we were concerned chiefly with the 
honor of God and the general welfare. We may add, how- 
ever, that there was never a Pope from whom we received 
fewer favors than from this one, and this, even after con- 
cluding an alliance with him. It was only with the greatest 
difficulty that we secured from him what he had promised, 
but beyond this he never did anything for us. For this we 
hold the Duke of Romagna responsible; for, although he 
could not do with us as he wished, he treated us as if we 
were perfect strangers. He was never frank with us; he 
never confided his plans to us, although we always informed 
him of ours. Finally as he inclined to Spain, and we 
remained good Frenchmen, we had little to look for either 

* Despatch of Bartolomeo Cavalieri to Ercole, Macon, S eptember 8, 
1503. 

287 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

from the Pope or his Majesty. Therefore his death caused 
us little grief, as we had nothing but evil to expect from 
the advancement of the above-named duke. We want you 
to give this our confidential statement to Chaumont, word 
for word, as we do not wish to conceal our true feelings 
from him — but speak cautiously to others about the subject 
and then return this letter to our worthy councilor 
Gianluca. 

Belriguardo, August 24, 1503. 

This statement was very candid. In view of the ad- 
vantages which had accrued to Ercole's State through the 
marriage with Lucretia, he might be regarded as ungrate- 
ful; he had, however, never looked upon this alliance as 
anything more than a business transaction, and so far as 
his relations with Caesar were concerned his view was en- 
tirely correct. 

Let us now hear what another famous prince — one who 
was in the confidence of the Borgias — says regarding the 
Pope's death. At the time of this occurrence the Marquis 
of Mantua was at his headquarters with the French army 
in Isola Farnese, a few miles from Rome. From there, 
September 22, 1503, he wrote his consort, Isabella, as 
follows : 

Illustrious Lady and Dearest Wife: In order that 
your Majesty may be familiar with the circumstances at- 
tending the Pope 's death, we send you the following partic- 
ulars. When he fell sick, he began to talk in such a way 
that anyone who did not know what was in his mind would 
have thought that he was wandering, although he was per- 
fectly conscious of what he said ; his words were, ' ' I come ; 
it is right; wait a moment." Those who know the secret 
say that in the conclave following the death of Innocent 
he made a compact with the devil, and purchased the 
papacy from him at the price of his soul. Among the other 
provisions of the agreement was one which said that he 
should be allowed to occupy the Holy See twelve years, and 

288 



DEATH OF ALEXANDER V* 

this he did with the addition of four days. There are some 
who affirm that at the moment he gave up his spirit seven 
devils were seen in his chamber. As soon as he was dead 
his body began to putrefy and his mouth to foam like a 
kettle over the fire, which continued as long as it was on 
earth. The body swelled up so that it lost all human form. 
It was nearly as broad as it was long. It was carried to the 
grave with little ceremony; a porter dragged it from the 
bed by means of a cord fastened to the foot to the place 
where it was buried, as all refused to touch it. It was given 
a wretched interment, in comparison with which that of the 
cripple's dwarf wife in Mantua was ceremonious. Scan- 
dalous epigrams are every day published regarding him. 

The reports of Burchard, of the Venetian ambassador 
Giustinian, of the Ferrarese envoy Beltrando, and of nu- 
merous others describe Alexander's end in almost precisely 
the same way, and the fable of the devil or " babuino " 
that carried Alexander's soul off is also found in Marino 
Sanuto's diary. The highly educated Marquis of Gon- 
zaga, with a simplicity equal to that of the people of Rome, 
believed it. 

The Mephisto legend of Faust and Don Juan, which 
was immediately associated with Alexander's death — even 
the black dog running about excitedly in St. Peter's is 
included — shows what was the opinion of Alexander's con- 
temporaries regarding the terrible life of the Borgia, and 
the extraordinary success which followed him all his days. 
Alexander's moral character is, however, so incompre- 
hensible that even the keenest psychologists have failed to 
fathom it. 

In him neither ambition nor the desire for power, 
which, in the majority of rulers, is the motive of their 
crimes, was the cause of his evil deeds. Nor was it hate of 
his fellows, nor cruelty, nor yet a vicious pleasure in doing 
evil. It was, however, his sensuality and also his love for 
19 289 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

his children — one of the noblest of human sentiments. All 
psychological theory would lead us to expect that the 
weight of his sins would have made Alexander a gloomy 
man with reason clouded by fear and madness, like 
Tiberius or Louis XI; but instead of this we have ever 
before us the cheerful, active man of the world — even until 
his last years. " Nothing worries him; he seems to grow 
younger every day," wrote the Venetian ambassador 
scarcely two years before his death. 

It is not his passions or his crimes that are incompre- 
hensible, for similar and even greater crimes have been 
committed by other princes both before and after him, but 
it is the fact that he committed them while he was Pope. 
How could Alexander VI reconcile his sensuality and his 
cruelty with the consciousness that he was the High Priest 
of the Church, God's representative on earth? There are 
abysses in the human soul to the depths of which no glance 
can penetrate. How did he overcome the warnings, the 
qualms of conscience, and how was it possible for him 
constantly to conceal them under a joyous exterior? Could 
he believe in the immortality of the soul and the existence 
of a divine Being ? 

When we consider the utter abandon with which Alex- 
ander committed his crimes, we are forced to conclude 
that he was an atheist and a materialist. There is a time 
in the life of every philosophic and unhappy soul when 
all human endeavor seems nothing more than the de- 
spairing, purposeless activity of an aggregation of pup- 
pets. But in Alexander VI we discover no trace of a 
Faust, nothing of his supreme contempt of the world, of 
his Titanic skepticism; but we find, on the contrary, that 
he possessed an amazingly simple faith, coupled with a 
capacity for every crime. The Pope who had Christ's 

290 




CARDINAL BEMBO. 
From an engraving by <J. Benaglia. 



DEATH OF ALEXANDEK VI 

mother painted with the features of the adulteress Giulia 
Farnese believed that he himself enjoyed the special pro- 
tection of the Virgin. 

Alexander's life is the very antithesis of the Christian 
ideal. To be convinced of this it is only necessary to com- 
pare the Pope's deeds with the teachings of the Gospel. 
Compare his actions with the Commandments: " Thou 
shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt 
not bear false witness." 

The fact that Rodrigo Borgia was a pope must seem 
to all the members of the Church the most unholy thing 
connected with it, and one which they have reason bitterly 
to regret. This fact, however, can never lessen the dignity 
of the Church — the greatest production of the human mind 
— but does it not destroy a number of transcendental 
theories which have been associated with the papacy ? 

The execrations which all Italy directed against Alex- 
ander could scarcely have reached Lucretia's ears, but she 
doubtless anticipated them. Her distress must have been 
great. Her entire life in Rome returned and overwhelmed 
her. Her father had been the cause, first, of all her un- 
happiness, and subsequently of all her good fortune. 
Filial affection and religious fears must have assailed her 
at one and the same time. Bembo describes her suffering. 
This man, subsequently so famous, came to Ferrara in 
1503, a young Venetian nobleman of the highest culture 
and fairest presence. He was warmly received by Lu- 
cretia, for whom he conceived great admiration. The ac- 
complished cavalier wrote her the following letter of con- 
dolence ; 

I called upon your Majesty yesterday partly for the 
purpose of telling you how great was my grief on account 

291 



LUCEETIA BOEGIA 

of your loss, and partly to endeavor to console you, and 
to urge you to compose yourself, for I knew that you were 
suffering a measureless sorrow. I was able to do neither the 
one nor the other ; for, as soon as I saw you in that dark 
room, in your black gown, lying weeping, I was so overcome 
by my feelings that I stood still, unable to speak, not 
knowing what to say. Instead of giving sympathy, I my- 
self was in need of it, therefore I departed, completely 
overcome by the sad sight, mumbling and speechless, as 
you noticed or might have noticed. Perhaps this hap- 
pened to me because you had need of neither my sym- 
pathy nor my condolences ; for, knowing my devotion and 
fidelity, you would also be aware of the pain which I felt 
on account of your sorrow, and you in your wisdom may 
find consolation within and not look to others for it. The 
best way to convey to you an idea of my grief is for me 
to say that fate could cause me no greater sorrow than 
by afflicting you. No other shot could so deeply penetrate 
my soul as one accompanied by your tears. Regarding 
condolence, I can only say to you, as you yourself must 
have thought, that time soothes and lessens all our griefs. 
So high is my opinion of your intelligence and so numer- 
ous the proofs of your strength of character that I know 
that you will find consolation, and will not grieve too 
long. For, although you have now lost your father, who 
was so great that Fortune herself could not have given 
you a greater one, this is not the first blow which you have 
received from an evil and hostile destiny. You have 
suffered so much before that your soul must now be inured 
to misfortune. Present circumstances, moreover, require 
that you should not give any one cause to think that you 
grieve less on account of the shock than you do on account 
of any anxiety as to your future position. It is foolish 
for me to write this to you, therefore I will close, com- 
mending myself to you in all humility. Farewell. In Os- 
tellato.* 

August 22,1503. 

* Bembo, Opp. iii, 309. - 



292 



CHAPTER VI 

EVENTS FOLLOWING THE POPE'S DEATH 

After Lucretia's first transports had passed she may- 
well have blessed her good fortune, for to what danger 
would she have been exposed if she now, instead of being 
Alfonso 's wife, was still forced to share the destiny of the 
Borgias! She was soon able to convince herself that her 
position in Ferrara was unshaken. She owed this to her 
own personality and to the permanent advantages which 
she had brought to the house of Este. She saw, however, 
that the lives of her kinsmen in Rome were in danger; 
there were her sick brother, her child Rodrigo, and Gio- 
vanni, Duke of Nepi; while the Orsini, burning with a 
desire to wipe out old scores, were hastening thither to 
avenge themselves for the blood of their kinsmen. 

She besought her father-in-law to help Cassar and to 
preserve his estates for him. Ercole thought that it would 
be more to his own advantage for Ceesar to hold the Ro- 
magna than to have it fall into the hands of Venice. He, 
therefore, sent Pandolfo Collenuccio thither to urge the 
people to remain true to their lord. To his ambassador 
in Rome he confided his joy that Caesar was on the road 
to recovery.* 

With the exception of the Romagna, the empire of 
Alexander's son at once began to crumble away. The 
tyrants he had expelled returned to their cities. Guido- 

* Minute Ducali a Costabili Beltrando, Ferrara, August 28, 1503. 
293 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

baldo and Elisabetta hastened from Venice to Urbino and 
were received with open arms. Still more promptly Gio- 
vanni Sforza had returned from Mantua to Pesaro. The 
Marquis Gonzaga had sent him the first news of Alex- 
ander's death and of Caesar's illness, and Sforza thanked 
him in the following letter : 

Illustrious Sir and Honored Brother: I thank your 
Excellency for the good news which you have given me in 
your letter, especially regarding the condition of Valen- 
tino. My joy is great because I believe my misfortunes 
are now at an end. I assure you that if I return to my 
country, I shall regard myself as your Excellency's 
creature, and you may dispose of my person and my prop- 
erty as you will. I ask you, in case you learn anything 
more regarding Valentino, and especially of his death, 
that you will send me the news, for by so doing you will 
afford me great joy. I commend myself to you at all 
times. 

Mantua, August 25, 1503. 

As early as September 3d, Sforza was able to inform 
the Marquis that he had entered Pesaro amid the acclama- 
tions of the people. He immediately had a medal struck 
in commemoration of the happy event. On one side is his 
bust and on the other a broken yoke with the words 
PATRIA RECEPTA.* Filled with the desire for revenge 
he punished the rebels of Pesaro by confiscating their prop- 
erty, casting them into prison, or by putting them to death. 
He had a number of the burghers hanged at the windows 
of his castle. Even Collenuccio, who had placed himself 
under the protection of Lucretia and the duke, in Ferrara, 

* One of these medals is preserved in the cabinet of the Oliveriana 
in Pesaro. It is reproduced in the Nuova Raccolta delle Monete e 
Zecche d'ltalia di Guidantonio Zanetti, p. 1. 

294 



AFTER THE POPE'S DEATH 

was soon to fall into his hands. With flattering promises 
Giovanni induced him to come to Pesaro, and then on the 
ground of the complaint he had addressed to Cassar Borgia, 
which Sforza claimed he had only just discovered, he cast 
him into prison. Collenuccio, not wholly guiltless as far 
as his former master and friend was concerned, resigned 
himself to his fate and died in July, 1504.* 

Meanwhile Lucretia was anxiously following the course 
of events in Rome. None of her letters to Caesar written 
at this time are preserved, nor are any of Caesar's to her. 
The only ones we have are those which he exchanged with 
the Duke of Ferrara, who continued to write him. Sep- 
tember 13th Ercole wrote congratulating him on his recov- 
ery, and informing him that he had sent a messenger to 
the people of Romagna urging them to remain true to him. 

Caesar was in Nepi when he received this letter, having 
gone there September 2d after he had arranged with the 
French ambassador in Rome, on the suggestion of the car- 
dinal, to place himself under the protection of France. He 
was accompanied by his mother, Vannozza, his brother 
Giuffre, and, doubtless, also by his little daughter Luisa 
and the two children Rodrigo and Giovanni, the latter of 
whom was Duke of Nepi. There he was safe, as the French 
army was camped in the neighborhood. Just as if nothing 
had happened, he wrote letters to the Marquis Gonzaga, 
who was then at his headquarters in Campagnano. He 
even sent him some hunting dogs as a present. There is 
also in existence a letter written by Giuffre to the same 
Gonzaga, dated Nepi, September 18th. While here Cassar 

* See Giulio Perticari, Op. Bol. 1839, vol. ii. Intorno la morte di 
Pandolfo Collenuccio. Perticari's opinion is too one-sided and opti- 
mistic. The beautiful elegy which he states Collenuccio wrote shortly 
before his death was written at a much happier time. 

295 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

learned that his protector and friend, Amboise, had not 
been elected pope as he had hoped, but that Piccolomini 
had been chosen. September 22d this cardinal, senile and 
moribund, ascended the papal throne, assuming the name 
Pius III. He was the happy father of no less than twelve 
children, boys and girls, who would have been brought up 
in the Vatican as princes but for his early death. He per- 
mitted Caesar to return to Rome and even showed him 
some favor ; but scarcely had the Borgia appeared — October 
3d — when the Orsini rose in their wrath and clamored for 
the death of their enemy. He and the two children took 
refuge in Castle S. Angelo, and October 18th Piccolomini 
died. 

The two children now had no protector but Caesar and 
the cardinals whom Alexander had appointed as their 
guardians. On the death of the Pope their duchies 
crumbled away. The Gaetani returned from Mantua and 
again took possession of Sermoneta and all the other estates 
which had been bestowed upon the little Rodrigo. Ascanio 
Sforza demanded either Nepi or the position of chamber- 
lain, and the last Varan© again secured Camerino. 

Rodrigo was Duke of Biselli, and as such under the pro- 
tection of Spain, Alexander having succeeded in obtaining, 
May 20, 1502, from Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile, a 
diploma by virtue of which the royal house of Spain con- 
firmed the Borgia family in the possession of all their 
Neapolitan estates. In this act Caesar and his heirs, Don 
Giuffre of Squillace; Don Juan, son of the murdered 
Gandia; Lucretia, as Duchess of Biselli, and her son and 
heir Rodrigo are explicitly named.* There is likewise in 
the Este archives an instrument which was drawn up in 
Lucretia 's chancellery, referring to the control of Rodrigo 's 
* The document is in the Este archives. 
296 



AFTER THE POPE'S DEATH 

property, and also others regarding the little Giovanni.* 
The two children, Rodrigo and Giovanni, during their early- 
years were reared together. Lucretia provided for them 
from Ferrara, as is shown by the record of her household 
expenses in 1502 and 1503. There are numerous entries 
for velvet and silk and gold brocade which she bought for 
the purpose of clothing the children. f 

In spite of the protection of Spain, Lucretia 's son's 
life was in danger in Rome, and it was her duty to have 
the child brought to her ; but this she neglected to do, either 
because she did not dare to do so, or she was not 
strong enough to bring it about, or because she perhaps 
feared that the child would be in still greater danger in 
Ferrara. The Cardinal of Cosenza, Rodrigo 's guardian, 
suggested to her that she sell all his personal property and 
send him to Spain, where he would be safe. In a letter she 
informed her father-in-law of this, and he replied as fol- 
lows: 

Illustrious Lady, Our Dearest Daughter-in-Law 
and Daughter: We have received your Majesty's letter, 
and also the one which his Eminence the Cardinal of Co- 
senza addressed to you "and which you sent us; this we 
return to you with our letter ; no one but ourselves read it. 
We note the unanimity with which your Majesty and the 

* This is the record already mentioned, Liber Arrendamentorum 
terrarum ad Ill m °s Dominos Rodericum Borgiam de Aragonia, Ser- 
moneti, etc., et Johannem Borgiam Nepesini Duces, infantes spectantium. 
Biselli, 1502. 

f Raxo pavonazo trovato in Guardaroba. De dito raso se ne fodrato 
dui ziponi e dui boniti per Don Rodrigo e Don Joanne (Braccia 6). De 
dito raso se ne posto in la capa de Don Rodrigo — Tela d'oro. De dita 
tela se ne posto a fodrare due cape de raxo pavonazo per Don Rodrigo e 
Don Joane -braza 12. Dite peze de fuxo doro tirato se ne pose per com- 
mission de la Signora nei saioni de Don Rodrigo e Don Joanne, etc. 
Estratti dall' inventario di roba di Lucrezia Borgia, 1502-1503. Archives 
of Modena. 

297 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

cardinal write. His advice shows such solicitude that it 
is at once apparent that it is due to his affection and wis- 
dom. We have considered everything carefully, and it 
seems to us that your Majesty can and ought to do what 
the worthy monsignor suggests. In fact I think your 
Majesty is bound to do as he advises on account of the 
affection which he displays for you and the illustrious Don 
Kodrigo, your son, who, I am told, owes his life to the 
cardinal. Although Don Rodrigo will be at a distance from 
you, it is better for him to be away and safe than for him 
to be near and in danger, as the cardinal thinks he would 
be. Your mutual love would in no way suffer by this 
separation. When he grows up he can decide, according 
to circumstances, whether it is best for him to return to 
Italy or remain away. The cardinal's suggestion to con- 
vert his personal property into money to provide for his 
support and to increase his income — as he states he is 
anxious to do — is a good idea. In brief, as we have said, 
it seems to us that you had best consent. Nevertheless, if 
your Majesty, who is perfectly competent to decide this, 
determine otherwise, we are perfectly willing. Farewell. 
Hercules, Duke of Ferrara, etc. 
Codegorio, October 4, 1503. 

In the meantime, November 1, 1503, Delia Rovere 
ascended the papal throne as Julius II. The Rovere, the 
Borgias, and the Medici, each gave the Church two popes, 
and they impressed upon the papacy the political form of 
the modern state. In the entire annals of the Church there 
are no other families which have so deeply affected the 
course of history. Their names suggest innumerable polit- 
ical and moral revolutions. Delia Rovere now released 
Ca?sar, whose bitterest enemy he had once been. It was 
apparent that Valentino's destruction was imminent. 

Elsewhere we may read how Julius II first used Cassar 
for the purpose of assuring his election by means of his 
influence on the Spanish cardinals, and how he subse- 
quently — after the surrender of the fortresses in the Ro- 

298 




JULIUS II. 
From an engraving published in 1580. 



AFTER THE POPE'S DEATH 

magna — cast him aside. Csesar threw himself into the 
arms of Spain, going from Ostia to Naples in October, 
1504, where the great Captain Gonsalvo represented Ferdi- 
nand the Catholic. Don Giuffre accompanied him. Cardi- 
nals Francesco Romolini of Sorrento and Ludovico Borgia 
had preceded him to Naples to escape a prosecution with 
which they were threatened. There Gonsalvo broke the 
safe-conduct which he had given Caesar. May 27th he seized 
him in the name of King Ferdinand and confined him in 
the castle of Ischia. 

We hear nothing of the fate of the Borgia children; 
apparently they remained under the protection of the 
Spanish cardinals in Rome or Naples. Csesar, saving noth- 
ing, and barely escaping with his life, set out for Spain. 
He had previously placed his valuables in the hands of 
his friends in Rome to keep for him or to send to Ferrara. 
December 31, 1503, Duke Ercole wrote his ambassador in 
Rome to take charge of Caesar's chests when the Cardinal 
of Sorrento should send them to him, and forward them to 
Ferrara as the property of the Cardinal d'Este.* Cardinal 
Romolini died in May, 1507, and Julius II confiscated 
in his house twelve chests and eighty-four bales which 
contained tapestries, rich stuffs, and other property be- 
longing to Caesar, f The Pope ordered the Florentines to 
return certain other property of Caesar's consisting of gold, 
silver, and similar valuables which he had sent to their 
city. The Florentine Signory, however, stated that they 
would have nothing to do with the matter. 

The removal of Caesar to Spain caused great excite- 
ment. No one, neither Gonsalvo, the Pope, nor King Fer- 

* Ercole to his ambassador in Rome, December 31, 1503. 

f Costabili to Ercole, May 6, 1507. 

J Manf redo Manf redi's despatch to Ercole, Florence, August 20, 1504. 

299 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

dinand was willing to assume the responsibility for it. 
It was even stated that it was due to Gandia's widow, who 
was at the Castilian court endeavoring to secure the arrest 
of her husband's murderer.* The Spanish cardinals and 
Lucretia exerted themselves to obtain Caesar 's release. The 
first news of him came from Spain in October, 1504. 
Costabili wrote to Ferrara: " The affairs of the Duke of 
Valentino do not appear to be in such a desperate con- 
dition as has been represented, for the Cardinal of Salerno 
has a letter of the third instant from Requesenz, the duke's 
majordomo, which his Majesty despatched before he 
reached there, and letters from several cardinals to his 
Majesty of Spain. Requesenz writes that the duke was 
confined with one servant in the castle of Seville, which, 
although very strong, is roomy. He was soon furnished 
with eight servants. He also writes that he has spoken to 
the king regarding freeing Caesar, and that his Majesty 
stated that he had not ordered the duke's confinement, but 
had given instructions for him to be brought to Spain on 
account of certain charges which Gonsalvo had made 
against him. If these were found to be untrue he would 
do as the cardinal requested concerning Caesar. However, 
nothing could be done until the queen recovered. He 
made the same answer to the ambassador of the King and 
Queen of Navarre, who endeavored to secure the duke's 
release, and consequently Requesenz hoped that he would 
soon be set free."f 

From this letter of Requesenz it appears that Caesar 

* Perche la mogliera del Duca di Candia, che fu morto dal Duca 
Valentino ha procurato questo acto de tencione et vendicta et che Lei e 
parente del Re di Spagna. Letter of Giovanni Alberto della Pigna to 
Ercole, Venice, June 18, 1504. 

f Costabili's despatch to Duke Ercole, Rome, October 27, 1504. 

300 



*l~ 'J True V* AakojiJp h birj07r*ltottfte, fd^HTo ^t. 
JeK V)v.J. tb^kyh K*j fy*nftt* Xk.4t4±IU Kfrm*- 

J*lv upatoxi*) Jsl,j tnt/fa into 7ny?ur<Jom6 Wi^hx 

fr\6 11 oft*' 'Vi/'** ju<Ji* <6+lJhWAxdi v^^CK. 
i / . Co 4— fa r , & i 

frjioa Jirf&Myf*~"CAv>»±y fay*** i *#****{*- 

Reduced facsimile of a letter written by Lucretia Borgia to Marchese 

Gonzaga. 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

was first taken to Seville and from there was sent to the 
castle of Medina del Campo in Castile. The King of 
France turned a deaf ear to his petitions. No one in Italy 
wanted him set free. His sister was the only person in the 
peninsula who took any interest in the overthrown upstart, 
and her appeals found little support among the Este. It was 
well known that if Cassar returned to Italy he would only 
cause uneasiness at the court of Ferrara, and would in all 
probability make it the center of his intrigues. The Gon- 
zaga alone appeared not to have entirely withdrawn their 
favor from him, although, instead of wishing, as they once 
had done, to establish a matrimonial alliance with him, 
they now connected themselves with the Rovere, the Mar- 
quis of Mantua marrying his young daughter Leonora to 
Julius's nephew, Francesco Maria della Rovere, heir of Ur- 
bino, April 9, 1505.* It was especially Isabella who, owing 
to her affection for her sister-in-law Lucretia, seconded her 
appeals to her husband. In the archives of the house of 
Gonzaga are several letters written by Lucretia to the 
marquis in the interests of her brother. 

August 18, 1505, she wrote him from Reggio that she 
had taken steps in Rome to induce the Pope to permit 
Cardinal Petro Isualles to go to the Spanish court to en- 
deavor to secure Caesar's freedom, and she hoped to suc- 
ceed. She, therefore, asked the marquis himself to request 
the Pope to allow the cardinal to undertake this mission. 
She wrote to him again from Belriguardo thanking him 
for his promise to despatch an agent to Spain, and she sent 
him a letter for King Ferdinand and another for her 
brother. It is not known whether the cardinal actually 
undertook this journey to Madrid, but it is hardly likely 
that Julius would have allowed him to do so. 

* The contract is in Beneimbene's protocol-book. 
302 



CHAPTER VII 

COURT POETS — GIULIA BELLA AND JULIUS II — THE ESTE 
DYNASTY ENDANGERED 

During the year, when Lucretia, filled with a sister's 
love, was grieving over the fate of her terrible brother, a 
great change occurred in her own circumstances, she hav- 
ing become Duchess of Ferrara, January 25, 1505. Her 
husband, Alfonso, in compliance with his father's wishes, 
had undertaken a journey to France, Flanders, and Eng- 
land for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the 
■courts of those countries. He was to return to Italy by 
way of Spain, but while he was at the court of Henry VII 
of England he received despatches informing him that his 
father was sick. He hastened back to Ferrara, and Ercole 
died shortly after his return. 

Alfonso ascended the ducal throne at a time when a 
strong hand and high intelligence were required to save 
his State from the dangers which threatened it. The Re- 
public of Venice had already secured possession of a part 
of Romagna, and was planning to cut Ferrara off from the 
mouth of the Po ; at the same time Julius II was scheming 
to take Bologna, and if he succeeded in this he would 
doubtless also attack Ferrara. In view of these circum- 
stances it was a fortunate thing for the State that its 
chief was a practical, cool-headed man like Alfonso. He 
was neither extravagant nor fond of display, and he cared 
nothing for a brilliant court. He was indifferent to ex- 
ternals, even to his own clothing. His chief concern was 

303 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

to increase the efficiency of the army, build fortresses, and 
cast cannon. When the affairs of state left him any leisure 
he amused himself at a turning-lathe which he had set up, 
and also in painting majolica vases, in which art he was 
exceedingly skilful. He had no inclination for the higher 
culture — this he left to his wife. 

The small collection of books which Lucretia brought 
with her from Rome shows that she possessed some educa- 
tion and an inclination to take part in the intellectual 
movement of Ferrara. We have a catalogue of these books, 
of the years 1502 and 1503, which shows what were Lu- 
cretia 's tastes. According to this list she possessed a 
number of books, many of which were beautifully bound 
in purple velvet, with gold and silver mountings; a 
breviary ; a book with the seven psalms and other prayers ; 
a parchment with miniatures in gold, called De Coppelle 
ala Spagnola; the printed letters of Saint Catharine of 
Siena; the Epistles and Gospels in the vulgar tongue; a 
religious work in Castilian; a manuscript collection of 
Spanish canzone with the proverbs of Domenico Lopez; a 
printed work entitled Aquilla Volant e; another, called 
Supplement of Chronicles, in the vulgar tongue; the 
Mirror of Faith, in Italian ; a printed copy of Dante, with 
a commentary; a work in Italian, on philosophy; the 
Legend of the Saints in the vulgar tongue; an old work, 
De Ventura; a Donatus; a Life of Christ in Spanish; a 
manuscript of Petrarch on parchment, in duodecimo. 
From this catalogue it is evident that Lucretia 's studies 
were not very profound. Her books were confined to 
religious works and belles-lettres.* 

* Another list of the year 1516 contains a number of magnificently 
bound breviaries and books of offices, but there are no additional works 
of a secular nature. For this catalogue I am indebted to Foucard, who 

304 



COURT POETS 

Lucretia established her ducal court in accordance with 
the dictates of her own fancy. She was now the soul and 
center of the intellectual life of Ferrara. Her cultivated 
intellect, her beauty, and the irresistible joyousness of her 
being charmed all who came into her presence. The op- 
position which the members of the house of Este at first 
had shown her had disappeared, and, especially in the case 
of Isabella Gonzaga, had changed into affection, as is 
proved by the extensive correspondence which the two 
women maintained up to the time of Lucretia 's death. In 
the archives of the house of Gonzaga there are several 
hundred of her letters to the Marchesa of Mantua. 

Her relations with the house of Urbino were no less 
pleasant, and they continued so even after the death of 
Guidobaldo in April, 1508, for his successor was Francesco 
Maria della Rovere, son-in-law of Isabella Gonzaga. She 
was frequently visited by these princes, and she enjoyed the 
friendship of a number of remarkable men — Baldassar 
Castiglione, Ottaviano Fregoso, Aldus Manutius, and 
Bembo. 

Bembo, who was in love with the beautiful duchess, con- 
stantly sang her praises, and, August 1, 1504, he dedicated 
to her his dialogue on love, the Asolani, in a letter in 
which he celebrated her virtues. His friend Aldo first 
spent some time in Ferrara at the court of Ercole, and 
subsequently went to the Pio at Carpi; finally he settled 
in Venice, where he printed the Asolani in the year 1505 
and dedicated it to Lucretia. There is no doubt about 
Bembo 's passion for the duchess, but it would be a fruit- 
less undertaking to endeavor to prove, from the evidences 
of affection which the beautiful woman bestowed upon 

copied it from an inventory of the personal property of Lucretia Borgia 
in the archives of Modena. 

20 305 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

him, that it passed the bounds of propriety. The belief 
that it did is due to the letters which Bembo wrote her, 
and which are printed in his works, and still more to those 
which Lucretia addressed to him. From 1503 to 1506 — in 
which year he removed to the court of Guidobaldo — the in- 
tellectual Venetian enjoyed the closest friendship with Lu- 
cretia. He corresponded with her while he was living with 
his friends the Strozzi in Villa Ostellato. These letters, 
especially those addressed to an " anonymous friend," by 
which designation he clearly meant Lucretia, are inspired 
by friendship, and display a tender confidence. Lucretia 's 
letters to Bembo are preserved in the Ambrosiana in Milan, 
where they and the lock of blond hair near them are exam- 
ined by every one who visits the famous library. The 
letters are written in her own hand, and there is no doubt 
of their authenticity; concerning the lock of hair there is 
some uncertainty; still it may be one of the pledges of 
affection which the happy Bembo carried away with him. 
Lucretia 's letters to Bembo were first examined and 
described by Baldassare Oltrocchi, and subsequently by 
Lord Byron; in 1859 they were published in Milan by 
Bernardo Gatti.* There are nine in all — seven in Italian 
and two in Spanish. They are accompanied by a Castilian 
canzone. 

It seems certain that she felt more than mere friend- 
ship for Bembo, for she was young, and he was an accom- 
plished cavalier, fair, amiable, and witty, who cast the 
rough Alfonso completely in the shade. He excited the 

* Dissertazione del Sig. Dottor Baldassare Oltrocchi sopra i primi 
amori di Pietro Bembo, indirizzata al sig. Conte Giammaria Mazzuc- 
chelli Bresciana. In the Nuova Raccolta d'Opuscoli Scientifici del 
Calogera, vol. iv. Lettere di Lucrezia Borgia a messer Pietro Bembo 
dagli autograft conservati in un Codice della Bibl. Ambrosiana. Milano 
coi Tipi dell' Ambrosiana, 1859. 

306 



COURT POETS 

latter 's jealousy, and the danger which threatened him 
may have been the cause of his removal to Urbino. Lu- 
cretia kept up her friendly relations with him until the 
year 1513. 

Several other poets in Ferrara devoted their talents to 
her glorification. The verses which the two Strozzi ad- 
dressed to her are even more ardent than those of Bembo — 
perhaps because their authors possessed greater poetical 
talent. Tito, the father, experienced the same feelings for 
the beautiful duchess as did his genial son Ercole, and he 
expressed them in the same poetical forms and imagery. 
This very similarity indicates that their devotion was 
merely aesthetic. Tito sang of a rose which Lucretia had 
sent him, but his son excelled him in an epigram on the 
Rose of Lucretia, which could hardly have been the same 
one his father had received.* 

Tito, in his epigram, described himself as senescent, 
and consequently not likely to be wounded by Cupid's 
darts, but he, nevertheless, was ensnared by Lucretia 's 
charms. " In her," so he says, " all the majesty of heaven 
and earth are personified, and her like is not to be found 
on earth." He addressed an epigram to Bembo, with 
whose passion for Lucretia he was acquainted, in which 
he derives the name Lucretia from " lux " and " retia," 
and makes merry over the net in which Bembo was caught. \ 

* Laeto nata solo, dextrS, rosa, pollice carpta; 
Unde tibi solito pulcrior, unde color? 
Num te iterum tinxit Venus? an potius tibi tantuin 
Borgia purpureo praebuit ore decus? 

f Ad Bembum de Lucretia. 
Si mutatur in X.C. tertia nominis hujus 

Littera lux net, quod modo luc fuerat. 
Retia subsequitur, cui tu haee subiunge paratque, 

Subscibens lux haec retia, Bembe, parat. 

307 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

His son Ercole describes her as a Juno in good works, 
a Pallas in decorum, and a Venus in beauty. In verses 
in imitation of Catullus he sang of the marble Cupid 
which the duchess had set up in her salon, saying that the 
god of Love had been turned into stone by her glance. He 
compared Lucretia's beautiful eyes with the sun, that 
blinds whosoever ventures to look at it; like Medusa, 
whose glance turned the beholder to stone, yet in this case 
" the pains of love still continued immortalized in the 
stone. ' ' 

Is it possible to believe that these poets would have 
written such verses if they had considered Lucretia Borgia 
guilty of the crimes which, even after her father's death, 
had been ascribed to her by Sannazzaro? 

Antonio Tebaldeo, Calcagnini, and Giraldi sang of 
Lucretia's beauty and virtue. Marcello Filosseno dedi- 
cated a number of charming sonnets to her, in which he 
compared her with Minerva and Venus. Jacopo Caviceo, 
who in the last years of his life (he died in 1511) was 
vicar of the bishopric of Ferrara, dedicated to her his 
wonderful romance " Peregrino," with an inscription in 
which he describes her as beautiful, learned, wise, and 
modest. The number of poets who threw themselves at her 
feet was certainly large, and she doubtless received their 
flattery with the same satisfied vanity with which a beauti- 
ful woman of to-day would accept such offerings. Some 
of these poets may really have been in love with her, while 
others burned their incense as court flatterers; all, doubt- 
less, were glad to find in her an ideal to serve as a platonic 
inspiration for their rhymes and verses. 

Ariosto excepted, these poets are to us nothing more 
than names in the history of literature. The great poet's 
relations with the princely house of Ferrara began about 

308 



COURT POETS 

1503, when he entered the service of Cardinal Ippolito. 
Soon after this — in the year 1505 — he began his great epic, 
and the beautiful duchess appears to have had very little 
influence on his work. He refers to her occasionally, espe- 
cially in a stanza for which she owed the poet little thanks 
if she foresaw his immortality — the eighty-third stanza in 
the forty-second canto of the Orlando Furioso, in which 
he places Lucretia's portrait in the temple to woman. 
The inscription under her portrait says that her fatherland, 
Rome, on account of her beauty and modesty must regard 
her as excelling Lucretia of old.* 

A recent Italian writer, speaking of Ariosto's adula- 
tion, says, " However much of it may be looked upon as 
court flattery, and as due to the poet's obligations to the 
house of Este, we know that the art of flattery had also its 
laws and bounds, and that one who ascribed such quali- 
ties to a prince who was known to be entirely lacking in 
them would be regarded as little acquainted with the world 
and with court manners, for he would cause the person to 
be publicly ridiculed. In this case the praise would degen- 
erate into satire and the incautious flatterer would fare 
badly, "f Flattery has always been the return which 
court poets make for their slavery. Ariosto and Tasso 
were no more free from it than were Horace and Virgil. 
When the poet of the Orlando Furioso discovered that 

* La prima inscrizion ch'agli occhi occorre, 
Con lungo honor Lncrezia Borgia noma, 
La cui bellezza ed onesta preporre 

Debbe all' antiqua la sua patria Roma. 
I duo che voluto han sopra se torre 
Tan to eccellente ed onorata soma, 
Noma lo scritto : Antonio Tebaldeo, 
Ercole Strozza: un Lino, e un Orfeo. 
f See the Marquis Giuseppe Campori's work: Una Vittima della 
Storia, Lucrezia Borgia, in the Nuova Antologia, August 31, 1866. 

309 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Cardinal Ippolito was beginning to treat him coldly, he 
thought to strike out everything he had said in his praise. 
Although it was probably merely the name Lucretia which 
Ariosto and other poets used — comparing it with the classic 
ideal of feminine honor — it is, nevertheless, difficult wholly 
to reject the interpretation of Lucretia 's modern advocates, 
for, even when this comparison was not made, other ad- 
mirers — Ariosto especially — praised the beautiful duchess 
for her decorum. This much is certain : her life in Ferrara 
was regarded as a model of feminine virtue. 

There was a young woman in her household who 
charmed all who came in contact with her until she became 
the cause of a tragedy at the court. This was the Angela 
Borgia whom Lucretia had brought with her from Rome, 
and who had been affianced to Francesco Maria Rovere. 
It is not known when the betrothal was set aside, although 
it may have been shortly after Alexander's death. The 
heir of Urbino married, as has been stated, Eleonora Gon- 
zaga. Among Angela's admirers were two of Alfonso's 
brothers, who were equally depraved, Cardinal Ippolito 
and Giulio, a natural son of Ercole. One day when Ippo- 
lito was assuring Angela of his devotion, she began to 
praise the beauty of Giulio 's eyes, which so enraged his 
utterly degenerate rival that he planned a horrible revenge. 
The cardinal hired assassins and commanded them to seize 
his brother when he was returning from the hunt, and to 
tear out the eyes which Donna Angela had found so beauti- 
ful. The attempt was made in the presence of the cardinal, 
but it did not succeed as completely as he had wished. The 
wounded man was carried to his palace, where the physi- 
cians succeeded in saving one of his eyes. This crime, 
which occurred November 3, 1505,* aroused the whole 
* Frizzi Storia di Ferrara, iv, 205. 
310 



COUET POETS 

court. The unfortunate Giulio demanded that it be paid 
in kind, but the duke merely banished the cardinal. The 
injured man brooded on revenge, and the direst conse- 
quences followed. 

Ariosto, the wicked cardinal's courtier, fell into diffi- 
culties from which he escaped in a way not altogether hon- 
orable, which lessens the worth of the praise he bestowed 
upon Lucretia. He wrote a poem in which he endeavored 
to clear the murderer by blackening Giulio 's character and 
concealing the motive for the crime. In this same eclogue 
he poured forth the most ardent praise of Lucretia. He 
lauded not only her beauty, her good works, and her in- 
tellect, but above all her modesty, for which she was famous 
before coming to Ferrara.* 

A year later, December 6, 1506, Lucretia married Donna 
Angela to Count Alessandro Pio of Sassuolo, and by a 
remarkable coincidence her son Giberto subsequently be- 
came the husband of Isabella, a natural daughter of Car- 
dinal Ippolito. 

In November, 1505, an event occurred in the Vatican 
which aroused great interest on the part of Lucretia, and 
likewise caused her most painful memories. Giulia Farnese, 
the companion of her unhappy youth, made her appearance 
there under circumstances which must have overcome her. 
We know nothing of the life of Alexander's mistress dur- 
ing the years immediately preceding and following his 
death. She and her husband, Orsini, were living in Castle 
Bassanello, to which her mother Adriana had also removed. 
At least Giulia was there in 1504, about which time one 

* Cose tutte che sono in onta del vero, says Antonio Cappelli. In- 
troduction to his Lettere di Lodovico Ariosto, Bologna, 1866. The 
eclogue is in Ariosto's Opere Minori i. 267. Angela Borgia is mentioned 
in the last canto (stanza 4) of the Orlando. 

311 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

of the Orsini committed one of those crimes with which 
the history of the great families of Italy is filled. Her 
sister, Girolama Farnese, widow of Puccio Pucci, had en- 
tered into a second marriage — this time with Count Giu- 
liano Orsini of Anguillara — and had been murdered by her 
stepson, Giambattista of Stabbia, because, as it was alleged, 
she had tried to poison him. Giulia buried her deceased 
sister in 1504, at Bassanello. 

She must have gone to Rome the following year and 
taken up her abode in the Orsini palace. Her husband 
Avas not living, and Adriana may also have been dead, for 
she was not present at the ceremony in the Vatican in No- 
vember, 1505, when Giulia, to the great astonishment of all 
Rome, married her only daughter, Laura, to the nephew of 
the Pope, Niccolo Rovere, brother of Cardinal Galeotto. 

Laura passed among all those who were acquainted with 
her mother's secrets as the child of Alexander VI and 
natural sister of the Duchess of Ferrara. When she was 
only seven years old her mother had betrothed her to 
Federico, the twelve-year-old son of Raimondo Farnese; 
this was April 2, 1499. This alliance was subsequently dis- 
solved to enable her to enter into a union as brilliant as her 
heart could possibly desire. 

The consent of Julius II to the betrothal of his nephew 
with the bastard daughter of Alexander VI is one of the 
most astonishing facts in the life of this pope. It perhaps 
marks his reconciliation with the Borgia. He had hated 
the men of this family while he was hostile to them, but 
his hatred was not due to any moral feelings. Julius II 
felt no contempt for Alexander and Cassar, but, on the 
other hand, it is more likely that he marveled at their 
strength as did Macchiavelli. We do not know that he had 
any personal relations with Lucretia Borgia after he 

312 



GIULIA BELLA AND JULIUS II 

ascended the papal throne, although this certainly would 
have been probable owing to the position of the house of 
Este. On one occasion he deeply offended Lucretia when, 
in reinstating Guglielmo Gaetani in possession of Sermo- 
neta by a bull dated January 24, 1504, he applied the most 
uncomplimentary epithets to Alexander VI, describing him 
as a " swindler " who had enriched his own children by 
plundering others.* This especially concerned Lucretia, 
for she had been mistress of Sermoneta, which had subse- 
quently been given to her son Rodrigo. 

Later, after Alfonso ascended the ducal throne, the 
relations between the Pope and Lucretia must have become 
more friendly. She kept up a lively correspondence with 
Giulia Farnese, and doubtless received from her the news 
of the betrothal of her daughter to a member of the Pope's 
family, f 

The betrothal took place in the Vatican, in the presence 
of Julius II, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, and the mother 
of the young bride. This was one of the greatest triumphs 
of Giulia 's romantic life — she had overcome the opposition 
of another pope, and one who had been the enemy of 
Alexander VI, and the man who had ruined Caesar. She, 
the adulteress, who had been branded by the satirists of 
Rome and of all Italy as mistress of Alexander VI, now 
appeared in the Vatican as one of the most respectable 
women of the Roman aristocracy, " the illustrious Donna 
Giulia de Farnesio," Orsini's widow, for the purpose of 
betrothing the daughter of Alexander and herself to the 

* The bull is in the archives of the house of Gaetani. 

f As late as January 15, 1519, a few months before her death, Lu- 
cretia wrote to Giulia. The 13th of that month, Pietro Torelli, the 
Ferrarese ambassador in Florence, reported that he had received a letter 
for Giulia and would attend to it. Archives of Modena. 

313 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Pope's nephew, thereby receiving absolution for the sins of 
her youth. She was still a beautiful and fascinating 
woman, and at most not more than thirty years of age. 

This good fortune and the rehabilitation of her char- 
acter (if, in view of the morals of the time, we may so 
describe it) she owed to the intercession of her brother the 
cardinal. Political considerations likewise induced the 
Pope to consent to the alliance, for, in order to carry out 
his plan for extending the pontifical States, it was neces- 
sary for him to win over the great families of Rome. He 
secured the support of the Farnese and of the Orsini; in 
May, 1506, he married his own natural daughter Felice to 
Giangiordano Orsini of Bracciano, and in July of the same 
year he gave his niece, Lucretia Gara Rovere, sister of 
Niccolo, to Marcantonio Colonna as wife. 

Again Giulia Farnese vanished from sight, and neither 
under Julius II nor Leo X does she reappear. March 14, 
1524, she made a will which was to be in favor of her nieces 
Isabella and Costanza in case her daughter should die with- 
out issue. March 23d the Venetian ambassador in Rome, 
Marco Foscari, informed his Signory that Cardinal Far- 
nese 's sister, Madama Giulia, formerly mistress of Pope 
Alexander VI, was dead. From this we are led to assume 
that she died in Rome. No authentic likeness of Giulia 
Bella has come down to us, but tradition says that one of 
the two reclining marble figures which adorn the monu- 
ment of Paul III — Farnese — in St. Peter's, Justice, repre- 
sents his sister, Giulia Farnese, while the other, Wisdom, is 
the likeness of his mother, Giovanella Gaetani. 

Giulia 's daughter was mistress of Bassanello and Car- 
bognano. She had one son, Giulio della Rovere, who subse- 
quently became famous as a scholar.* 

* Fioravanti Martinelli Carbognano illustrado, Rome, 1644. 
314 



ESTE DYNASTY ENDANGERED 

In the meantime the attempt against Giulio d 'Este had 
been attended by such consequences that the princely- 
house of Ferrara found itself confronted by a grave 
danger. Giulio complained to Alfonso of injustice, while 
the cardinal's numerous friends considered his banishment 
too severe a punishment. Ippolito had a great following 
in Ferrara. He was a lavish man of the world, while the 
duke, owing to his utilitarian ways and practical life, 
repelled the nobility. A party was formed which advo- 
cated a revolution. The house of Este had survived many 
of these attempts. One had occurred when Ercole ascended 
the throne. 

Giulio succeeded in winning over to his cause certain 
disaffected nobles and conscienceless men who were in the 
service of the duke ; among them Count Albertino Boschetti 
of San Cesario; his son-in-law, the captain of the palace 
guard; a chamberlain; one of the duke's minstrels, and a 
few others. Even Don Ferrante, Alfonso's own brother, 
who had been his proxy when he married Lucretia in 
Rome, entered into the conspiracy. The plan was, first to 
despatch the cardinal with poison; and, as this act would 
be punished if the duke were allowed to live, he was to be 
destroyed at a masked ball, and Don Ferrante was to be 
placed on the throne. 

The cardinal, who was well served by his spies in Fer- 
rara, received news of what was going on and immediately 
informed his brother Alfonso. This was in July, 1506. 
The conspirators sought safety in flight, but only Giulio 
and the minstrel Guasconi succeeded in escaping, the for- 
mer to Mantua and the latter to Rome. Count Boschetti 
was captured in the vicinity of Ferrara. Don Ferrante 
apparently made no effort to escape. When he was brought 
before the duke he threw himself at his feet and begged for 

315 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

mercy; but Alfonso in his wrath lost control of himself, 
and not only cast him from him but struck out one of his 
eyes with a staff which he had in his hand. He had him 
confined in the tower of the castle, whither Don Giulio, 
whom the Marchese of Mantua had delivered after a short 
resistance, was soon brought. The trial for treason was 
quickly ended, and sentence of death passed upon the 
guilty. First Boschetti and two of his companions were 
beheaded in front of the Palazzo della Ragione. This scene 
is faithfully described in a contemporaneous Ferrarese 
manuscript on criminology now preserved in the library of 
the university. 

The two princes were to be executed in the court of the 
castle, August 12th. The scaffold was erected, the tribunes 
were filled, the duke took his place, and the unfortunate 
wretches were led to the block. Alfonso made a signal — 
he was about to show mercy to his brothers. They lost 
consciousness and were carried back to prison. Their pun- 
ishment had been commuted to life imprisonment. They 
spent years in captivity, surviving Alfonso himself. Ap- 
parently it caused him no contrition to know that his 
miserable brothers were confined in the castle where he 
dwelt and held his festivities. Such were the Este whom 
Ariosto in his poem lauded to the skies. Not until Febru- 
ary 22, 1540, did death release Don Ferrante, then in the 
sixty-third year of his age. Don Giulio was granted his 
freedom in 1559, and died March 24, 1561, aged eighty- 
three. 



316 



CHAPTER VIII 

ESCAPE AND DEATH OF C^SAB 

It was at the time of this great tragedy in Ferrara, 
which must have vividly reminded Lucretia of her own ex- 
periences in the papal city, that Julius II left Rome for 
the purpose of carrying out his bold plans for reestablish- 
ing the pontifical states by driving out the tyrants who had 
succeeded in escaping Caesar's sword. Alfonso, as a vassal 
of the Church, sent him some troops, but he did not take 
part personally in the expedition. Guidobaldo of Urbino, 
who had adopted Francesco Maria Rovere as his son and 
heir, and the Marchese Gonzaga served in the army of 
Julius II. September 12, 1506, the Pope entered Perugia, 
whose tyrants, the Baglioni, surrendered. November 11th 
he made his entry into Bologna, Giovanni Bentivoglio and 
his wife Ginevra having fled with their children. There 
Julius halted, casting longing looks at Romagna, formerly 
Caesar's domain, but now occupied by the Venetian army. 

It is a curious coincidence that it was at this very 
moment that the Duke of Romagna, who had vanished 
from the stage, again appeared. In November Lucretia 
received news that her brother had escaped from his prison 
in Spain, and she immediately communicated the fact to 
the Marchese Gonzaga, who, as field marshal of the Church, 
was in Bologna.* 

* In the record of her household expenses, under date of November 
20, 1506, there is the following entry : A Garzia Spagnolo per andare a 

317 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Lucretia had frequently exerted herself to secure 
Caesar's freedom and had remained in constant communi- 
cation with him by messenger. Her petitions, however, 
had produced no effect upon the King of Spain. Finally, 
owing to favorable circumstances, Caesar succeeded in 
effecting his escape. Zurita says that Ferdinand the Catho- 
lic intended to remove him from his prison in the spring 
of 1506 to Aragon, and then to take him to Naples, whither 
he was going to place the affairs of the kingdom in order, 
and to assure himself of Gonsalvo, whose loyalty he sus- 
pected. His son-in-law, the Archduke Philip, with whom 
he was at variance on account of his pretensions to the 
kingdom of Castile, refused to allow Caesar to be released 
from Medina, a Castilian place. While Ferdinand was ab- 
sent on his journey, Philip died at Burgos, September 5, 
1506, and Caesar took advantage of this opportunity and 
the king's absence to escape. This he did with the help 
of the Castilian party, who hoped to profit by the services 
of the famous condottiere. 

October 25th he escaped from the castle of Medina to 
the estates of the Count of Benavente, where he remained. 
Some of the barons who wished to place the government of 
Castile in the hands of Maximilian, Philip's father, were 
anxious to send him to Flanders as their messenger to the 
emperor's court. As this plan fell through, Caesar betook 
himself to Pamplona to his brother-in-law, the King of 
Navarre, who had become embroiled in this Castilian in- 
trigue and was at war with his rebellious constable the 
Count of Lerin. 

From that place Caesar wrote the Marchese of Mantua, 

Venezia per la nova del Duca Valentino che era fugito de progione. 
November 27, she wrote to Gonzaga. 

318 



ESCAPE AND DEATH OF CJESAR 

and this is the last letter written by him which has been 
discovered. 

Illustrious Prince: I inform you that after innumer- 
able disappointments it has pleased God, our Master, to 
free me and to release me from prison. How this happened 
you will learn from my secretary Federigo, the bearer. 
May this, by God's never-failing mercy, redound to his 
great service. At present I am with the illustrious King 
and Queen of Navarre in Pamplona, where I arrived De- 
cember 3d, as your Majesty will learn from the above- 
named Federigo, who will also inform you of all that has 
occurred. You may believe whatever he tells you in my 
name, just as if I myself were speaking to you. 

I commend myself to your Excellency forever. From 
Pamplona, December 7, 1506. Your Majesty's friend and 
younger brother, 

Cjesar. 

The letter has a wafer bearing the combined arms of 
Caesar with the inscription Ccesar Borgia de Francia Dux 
Romandiolce. One shield has the Borgia arms, with the 
French lilies, and a helmet from which seven snarling 
dragons issue; the other the arms of Caesar's wife, with the 
lilies of France, and a winged horse rising from the 
casque. 

Caesar's secretary reached Ferrara the last day of 
December. This same Federigo had been in that city once 
before, — during July of the year 1506, and had been sent 
back to Spain by the duchess.* He now returned to Italy, 
not for the purpose of bringing the news of his master's 
escape, but to learn how matters stood and to ascertain 
whether there was any prospect of restoring the Duke of 
Romagna. His majordomo, Requesenz, who was in Fer- 

* Record of Lucretia's household expenses for the year 1506 
(Archives of Modena): July 31, 1506, a Federigo Cancelliere del Duca 
Valentino per andare per le poste in Spagna dal Duca. 

319 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

rara in January, had come for the same purpose. No time, 
however, could have been less favorable for such schemes 
than the year 1506, for Julius II had just taken possession 
of Bologna. The Marchese Gonzaga, upon whose good will 
Caesar still reckoned, was commander of the papal army, 
which — it was believed — was planning an expedition into 
the Romagna. This was the only country where there was 
the slightest possibility of Caesar's succeeding in reacquir- 
ing his power, for his good government had left a favor- 
able impression on the Romagnoles, who would have pre- 
ferred his authority to that of the Church. Zurita, the 
historian of Aragon, is correct when he says: " Caesar's 
escape caused the Pope great anxiety, for the duke was a 
man who would not have hesitated to throw all Italy in 
turmoil for the purpose of carrying out his own plans ; he 
was greatly beloved, not only by the men of war, but also 
by many people in Ferrara and in the States of the Church 
— something which seldom falls to the lot of a tyrant." 

Caesar's messenger ventured to Bologna in spite of the 
presence of the Pope, and there the latter had him seized. 
This was reported to Lucretia, who immediately wrote to 
the Marchese of Gonzaga as follows : 

Illustrious Brother-in-Law and Honored Brother: 
I have just learned that by command of his Holiness our 
Federigo, the chancellor of the duke, my brother, has been 
seized in Bologna ; I am sure he has done nothing to deserve 
this, for he did not come here with the intention of doing 
or saying anything that would displease or injure his 
Holiness — his Excellency would not countenance or risk 
anything of this sort against his Holiness. If Federigo 
had been given any order of this nature he would have 
first informed me of it, and I should never have permitted 
him to give any ground for complaint, for I am a devoted 
and faithful servant of the Pope, as is also my illustrious 
husband. I know of no other reason for his coming than 

320 



ESCAPE AND DEATH OF CiESAR 

to inform us of the duke 's escape. Therefore I consider his 
innocence as beyond question. This apprehension of the 
courier is especially displeasing to me because it will injure 
my brother, the duke, making it appear that he is not in 
his Holiness 's favor, and the same may be said of myself. 
I, therefore, urgently request your Excellency — of course 
if you are disposed to do me a favor — to use every means 
to induce his Holiness to release the messenger promptly, 
which I trust he will do out of his own goodness, and owing 
to the mediation of your Excellency. There is no way 
your Majesty could give me greater pleasure than by doing 
this, for the sake of my own honor and every other con- 
sideration, and in no way could I become more beholden to 
you. Therefore, I commend myself again to you with all 
my heart. Your Majesty's Sister and Servant, 

The Duchess of Ferrara. 
Ferrara, 'January 15, 1507. 

Caesar had sent his former majordomo, Don Jaime de 
Requesenz, from Pamplona to the King of France to ask 
him to allow him to return to his court and enter his service. 
To this, however, Louis XII would not listen. The mes- 
senger met with a severe rebuff when he demanded in 
Caesar's name the duchy of Valentinois and the revenue 
which he had formerly enjoyed as a prince of the French 
house.* 

Death soon put an end to the hopes of the famous ad- 
venturer. While in the service of his brother-in-law, the 
King of Navarre, he conducted the siege of the castle of 
Yiana, which was defended by the king's vassal Don Loys 
de Beamonte, Count of Lerin. There he fell, bravely fight- 
ing, March 12, 1507. This place is situated in the diocese 
of Pamplona, and, as Zurita remarks, Caesar's death by a 
curious coincidence occurred on the anniversary of the day 
on which to him had been given the bishopric of Pamplona. 

* Despatch of the Ferrarese ambassador to France, Manfredo Man- 
fredi, to Duke Alfonso, January, 1507. 

21 321 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

There he was interred with high honors. Like Nero he was 
only thirty-one years of age at the time of his demise. 

The fall of this terrible man, before whom all Italy had 
once trembled, and whose name was celebrated far and 
wide, relieved Julius II of a pretender who in time might 
have been a hindrance to him ; for Caesar, as an ally and a 
condottiere of Venice, would have spared no effort to force 
him into a war with the Republic for the possession of 
Romagna, or into a war with France on his withdrawal 
from the League of Cambray, and the revengeful Louis XII 
would certainly have brought Caesar back to the Romagna 
for the purpose of availing himself both of his former con- 
nections in that country, and also of his great talents as a 
soldier. 

The news of Caesar's death reached Ferrara while the 
duke was absent, in April, 1507, by way of Rome and 
Naples. His counselor Magnanini and Cardinal Ippolito 
withheld the news from the duchess, who was near her con- 
finement. She was merely told that her brother had been 
wounded in battle. Greatly distressed, she betook herself 
to one of the convents in the city, where she spent two days 
in prayer before returning to the castle. As soon as the 
talk regarding Caesar's death reached her ears she 
despatched her servant Tullio for Navarre, but on the 
way he received a report of the burial and turned back to 
Ferrara. Grasica, one of Caesar's equerries, also came to 
Ferrara and gave a full report of the circumstances attend- 
ing the death of his master, at whose interment in Pam- 
plona he had been present. The cardinal therefore decided 
to tell Lucretia the truth, and gave her her husband's 
letter containing the news of Caesar's death.* 

* Letters of Hieronymus Magnaninus to his master, Alfonso, Fer- 
rara, April 11 to 22, archives of the Este. 

322 



ESCAPE AND DEATH OF CiESAR 

The duchess displayed more self-control than had been 
expected. Her sorrow was mingled with the bitter recol- 
lection of all she had experienced and suffered in Rome, 
the memory of which had been dulled but not wholly 
obliterated by her life in Ferrara. Twice the murder of 
her young husband Alfonso must have come back to her 
in all its horror — once on the death of her father and again 
on that of her terrible brother. If her grief was not in- 
spired by the overwhelming memories of former times, 
the sight of Lucretia weeping for Caesar Borgia is a beauti- 
ful example of sisterly love — the purest and most noble of 
human sentiments. 

Valentino certainly did not appear to his sister or to his 
contemporaries in the form in which we now behold him, 
for his crimes seem blacker and blacker, while his good 
qualities and that which — following Macchiavelli — we may 
call his political worth, are constantly diminishing. To 
every thinking man the power which this young upstart, 
owing to an unusual combination of circumstances, ac- 
quired is merely a proof of what the timid, short-sighted 
generality of mankind will tolerate. They tolerated the im- 
mature greatness of Caesar Borgia, before whom princes and 
states trembled for years, and he was not the last bold but 
empty idol of history before whom the world has tottered. 

Although Lucretia may not have had a very clearly 
defined opinion of her brother, neither her memory nor her 
sight could have been wholly dulled. She herself forgave 
him, but she must, nevertheless, have asked herself whether 
the incorruptible Judge of all mankind would forgive him 
— for she was a devout and faithful Catholic according to 
the religious standards of the age. She doubtless had in- 
numerable masses said for his soul, and assailed heaven 
with endless prayers. 

323 



LUCEETIA BORGIA 

Ercole Strozzi sought to console her in pompous verse; 
in 1508 he dedicated to her his elegy on Caesar. This fan- 
tastic poem is remarkable as having been the production of 
this man, and it might be defined as the poetic counterpart 
of Macchiavelli 's "Prince." First the poet describes the 
deep sorrow of the two women, Lucretia and Charlotte, la- 
menting the deceased with burning tears, even as Cassandra 
and Polyxena bewailed the loss of Achilles. He depicts the 
triumphant progress of Caesar, who resembled the great 
Roman by his deeds as well as in name. He enumerated 
the various cities he had seized in Romagna, and com- 
plained that an envious Fate had not permitted him to sub- 
jugate more of them, for if it had, the fame of the capture 
of Bologna would not have fallen to Julius II. The poet 
says that the Genius of Rome had once appeared to the 
people and foretold the fall of Alexander and Caesar, 
complaining that all hope of the savior of the line of Calix- 
tus, — whom the gods had promised, — would expire with 
them. Eratus had told the poet of these promises made in 
Olympus. Pallas and Venus, one as the friend of Caesar 
and Spain, the other as the patron of Italy, unwilling that 
strangers should rule over the descendants of the Trojans, 
had complained to Jupiter of his failure to fulfil his prom- 
ise to give Italy a great king who would be likewise 
her savior. Jupiter had reassured them by saying that 
fate was inexorable. Caesar like Achilles had to die, but from 
the two lines of Este and Borgia, which sprang from Troy 
and Greece, the promised hero would come. Pallas there- 
upon appeared in Nepi, where, after Alexander's death, 
Caesar lay sick of the pest, in his camp, and, in the form of 
his father, informed him of his approaching end, which he, 
conscious of his fame, must suffer like a hero. Then she 
disappeared in the form of a bird and hastened to Lu- 

324 



ESCAPE AND DEATH OF CAESAR 

cretia in Ferrara. After the poet described Caesar's 
fall in Spain he sought to console the sister with philosophic 
platitudes, and then with the assurance that she was to be 
the mother of the child who was destined for such a great 
career.* 

According to Zurita, Caesar left but one legitimate child, 
a daughter, who was living with her mother under the pro- 
tection of the King of Navarre. Her name was Luisa ; later 
she married Louis de la Tremouille, and on his death Philipp 
of Bourbon, Baron of Busset. Her mother, Charlotte 
dAlbret, having suffered much in life, gave herself up to 
holy works. She retired from the world, and died March 
11, 1504. Two natural children of Caesar, a son Girolamo 
and a daughter Lucretia were living in Ferrara, where the 
latter became a nun and died in 1573, she being at the time 
abbess of San Bernardino. f As late as February, 1550, 
an illegitimate son of Caesar's appeared in Paris. He was 
a priest, and he announced that he was the natural son of 
the Duke of Romagna, and called himself Don Luigi. He 
had come from Rome to ask assistance of the King of 
France, because, as he said, his father had met his death 
while he was in the service of the French crown in the 
kingdom of Navarre. They gave him a hundred ducats, 
with which he returned to Rome. J 

* Csesaris Borgise Ducis Epicedium per Herculem Strozzam ad 
Divam Lucretiam Borgiam Ferrariae Ducem. In Strozzi Poetae Pater 
et Filius, Paris, 1530. 

f See Cittadella's genealogy of the house of Borgia. 

X Letter of Giulio Alvarotti from France, February 14, 1550, in the 
archives of Modena. 



325 



CHAPTER IX 

MURDER OF ERCOLE STROZZI — DEATH OF GIOVANNI SFORZA 
AND OF LUCRETIA'S ELDEST SON 

Alfonso's hopes of having an heir had twice been dis- 
appointed by miscarriages, but April 4, 1508, his wife bore 
him a son, who was baptized with the name of his grand- 
father. 

Er'cole Strozzi regarded the birth of this heir to the 
throne as the fulfilment of his prophesy. In a geneth- 
liakon he flatters the duchess with the hope that the deeds 
of her brother Cassar and of her father Alexander would be 
an incentive to her son — both would remind him of Camil- 
lus and the Scipios as well as of the heroes of Greece. 

Only a few weeks after this the genial poet met with a 
terrible end. His devotion to Lucretia was doubtless 
merely that of a court gallant and poet celebrating the 
beauty of his patroness. The real object of his affections 
was Barbara Torelli, the youthful widow of Ercole Benti- 
voglio, who gave him the preference over another noble- 
man. Strozzi married her in May, 1508. 

Thirteen days later, on the morning of June 6th, the 
poet's dead body was found near the Este palace, which 
is now known as the Pareschi, wrapped in his mantle, some 
of his hair torn out by the roots, and wounded in two and 
twenty places. All Ferrara was in an uproar, for she 
owed her fame to Strozzi, one of the most imaginative poets 
of his time, the pet of everybody, the friend of Bembo 

326 



MURDER OF ERCOLE STROZZI 

and Ariosto, the favorite of the duchess and of the entire 
court. On his father's death he had succeeded to his posi- 
tion as chief of the twelve judges of Ferrara. He was 
still in the flower of his youth, being only twenty-seven 
years old. 

This terrible event must have reminded Lucretia of the 
day when her brother Gandia was slain. The mystery 
attending these crimes has never been dispelled. ' ' No one 
named the author of the murder, for the pretor was silent, ' ' 
says Paul Jovius in his eulogy of the poet. But who, ex- 
cept those who had the power to do so could have com- 
pelled the court to remain silent? 

Some have ascribed the deed to Alfonso, stating that 
he destroyed Strozzi on account of his passion for the 
latter 's wife ; others claim that he simply revenged himself 
for the favor which Lucretia had shown the poet. Re- 
cent writers who have endeavored to fathom the mystery 
and who have availed themselves of authentic records of 
the time regard Alfonso as the guilty one.* One of the 
strongest proofs of his guilt is found in the fact that the 
duke, who not only had punished the conspirators against 
his own life so cruelly, and who had always shown himself 
an unyielding supporter of the law, allowed the matter to 
drop. 

Lucretia has even been charged with the murder on the 
ground of her jealousy of Barbara Torelli, or owing to her 
fear that Strozzi might disclose her relations with Bembo, 
especially as he had hoped to obtain the cardinal's 
hat through the influence of the duchess, in which he was 
disappointed. None of the later historians has given any 

* Campori; Una Vittima della Storia ; Antonio Capelli, Lettere di L. 
Ariosto, Introduction, p. lxi. Also W. Gilbert, Lucrezia Borgia, 
Duchess of Ferrara, ii, 240. 

327 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

credence to this theory. Ariosto did not believe it, for if 
he did how could he have made Ercole Strozzi the herald 
of her fame in the temple of honor in which he placed the 
women of the house of Este? Even if he wrote this stanza 
before the poet's death — which is not probable — he would 
certainly have changed it before the publication of the 
poem, which was in 1516. 

Nor did Aldo Manuzio believe in Lucretia 's guilt, for 
in 1513 he dedicated to her an edition of the poems of the 
two Strozzi, father and son, accompanied by an introduc- 
tion in which he praises her to the skies. 

In the meantime Julius II had formed the League of 
Cambray, which was to crush Venice, and which Ferrara 
had also joined. The war kept Alfonso away from his 
domain much of the time, and consequently he made Lu- 
cretia regent during his absence. In former days she had 
occasionally acted as regent in the Vatican and in Spoleto 
— but in a different way. In 1509 she saw the war clouds 
gathering about Ferrara, for it was in that year that her 
husband and the cardinal attacked the Venetian fleet on 
the Po. August 25th of this same year Lucretia bore a sec- 
ond son, Ippolito. 

The war which convulsed the entire peninsula immedi- 
ately drew Ferrara into the great movement which did 
not subside until Charles V imposed a new order of things 
en the affairs of Italy. Lucretia 's subsequent life, there- 
fore, was largely influenced by politics. Her first peaceful 
years in Ferrara, like her youth, were past. She now de- 
voted herself to the education of her children, the princes 
of Este, and to affairs of state whenever her husband en- 
trusted them to her. She was a capable woman ; her father 
was not mistaken in his opinion of her intellect. She made 
herself felt as regent in Ferrara. She was regent for the 

328 




ALDO MANUZIO. 
From an engraving by Augustin de St. Ala bin. 



DEATH OF GIOVANNI SFORZA 

first time in May, 1506, and she acquitted herself most 
creditably. The Jews in Ferrara were being oppressed, and 
Lucretia had a law passed to protect them, and all who 
transgressed it were severely punished. In the dedication 
of the poems of the Strozzi addressed to her by Aldo, he 
lauds, among her other good qualities, not only her fear of 
God, her benevolence to the poor, and her kindness toward 
her relatives, but also her ability as a ruler, saying that she 
made an excellent regent, whose sound opinions and per- 
spicacity were greatly admired by the burghers. Even if 
we make allowances for the flattery, there is still much 
truth in what he says. 

Owing to these facts it is not strange that Lucretia 's 
personality was quite obliterated or eclipsed by the political 
history of Ferrara during this period. The chroniclers of 
the city make no mention of her except on the occasion of 
the birth of her children, and Paul Jovius speaks of her 
only two or three times in his biography of Alfonso, al- 
though in each case with the greatest respect. The per- 
sonal interest which the early career of this woman had 
excited died out with the change in her life. Even her let- 
ters to Alfonso and those to her friend Isabella Gonzaga 
contain little of importance to her biographers. No one 
now questioned her virtues ; even the Emperor Maximilian, 
who had endeavored to prevent her marriage with Alfonso, 
acknowledged them. One day in February, 1510, in Augs- 
burg, while in conversation with the Ferrarese ambassador, 
Girolamo Cassola — having discussed the ladies and the 
festivities of Augsburg at length — he questioned the am- 
bassador about the women of Italy, and especially about 
those of Ferrara, whereupon " much was said regarding 
the good qualities of our duchess. I spoke of her beauty, 
her graciousness, her modesty, and her virtues. The 

329 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

emperor asked me what other beauties there were in Fer- 
rara, and I named Donna Diana and Donna Agnola, one 
the sister and the other the wife of Ercole d'Este." Such 
was the report the ambassador sent to Ferrara.* 

Lucretia's nature had become more composed, thanks to 
the stability of the world to which she now belonged and 
owing to the important duties she now had, and only 
rarely was it disturbed by any reminder of her experiences 
in Rome. The death of Giovanni Sf orza of Pesaro, however, 
in 1510, served to recall her early life. 

On returning to his State, Sforza had been confirmed 
in its possession as a vassal of the Church by a bull of 
Julius II. He endeavored to rule wisely, made many im- 
provements, and strengthened the castle of Pesaro. He 
was a cultivated man given over to the study of philosophy. 
Ratti, a biographer of the house of Sforza, mentions a cata- 
logue which he compiled of the entire archives of Pesaro. 
In 1504 he married a noble Venetian, Ginevra, of the house 
of Tiepolo, whose acquaintance he had made while in exile. 
November 4, 1505, she bore him a son, Costanzo.f 

What were his exact relations with the Este, with whom 
he was connected, we do not know, although they, doubtless, 
were not altogether pleasant. Sforza could not have 
found much pleasure in life, for his famous house was fast 
becoming extinct, and he could not f orsee a long future for 
his race. He died peacefully July 27, 1510, in the castle of 
Gradara, where he had been in the habit of spending much 
of his time alone. 

As his son was still a small child his natural brother 

* Despatch of Girolamo Cassola, Augsburg, February 27, 1510. 
Archives of Modena. 

\ This he announced to the Marchese G-onzaga from Pesaro, Novem- 
ber 4, 1505. Archives of Mantua. 

330 



DEATH OF GIOVANNI SFORZA 

Galeazzo, who had married Ginevra, a daughter of Ercole 
Bentivoglio, assumed the government of Pesaro. Gio- 
vanni 's child died August 15, 1512, whereupon Pope Julius 
II withdrew his support from Galeazzo, and forced the last 
of the Sforza of Pesaro to enter into an agreement by 
which, October 30, 1512, he surrendered the castle and 
domain to Francesco Maria Rovere, who had been Duke of 
Urbino since the death of Guidobaldo in April, 1508. 
Pesaro therefore was united with this State. Galeazzo died 
in Milan in 1515, having made the Duke Maximilian 
Sforza his heir. The line of the lords of Pesaro thus be- 
came extinct, for Giovanni Sforza had left only a natural 
daughter, Isabella, who in 1520 married Sernigi Cipriano, 
a noble Florentine, and who died in Rome in 1561, famous 
for her culture and intellect. Her epitaph may still be 
read on a stone in the wall of the passageway behind the 
tribune in the Lateran basilica.* 

The death of Lucretia's first husband must have vividly 
reminded her of the wrong she had done him, because 
she had now reached the age when frivolity no longer 
dulled conscience ; but the times were so troublous that she 
directed her thoughts into other channels. August 9, 1510, 
a few days after the death of Sforza, Julius II placed Al- 
fonso under his ban and declared that he had forfeited all 
his Church fiefs. The Pope again took up the plans of his 

* Copies of the following instruments concerning the last Sforza of 
Pesaro are in the archives of Florence: will of Giovanni Sforza, July 24, 
1510; agreement between Galeazzo and the Papal Legate, October 30, 
1512; Galeazzo's will, March 23, 1515; Isabella's marriage contract, 
Pesaro, September 29, 1520. The epitaph in the Lateran is as follows: 
Isabella? Sfortiae Joannis Pisaurensium F. Feminae Sui Temporis Pru- 
dentia Ac Pietate Insigni Exec. Test. P. Vix. Ann LVII. M. VII. D. 
Ill Obiit Ann. MDLXI. XI Kal. Febr. Consensu Nobilium De Mutis 
De Papazurris. Above is a profile in marble. 

331 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

uncle Sixtus, who, in conjunction with the Venetians, had 
schemed to wrest Ferrara from the Este. After the Vene- 
tians had appeased him by withdrawing from the cities of 
Romagna, he had made peace with the Republic, and com- 
manded Alfonso to withdraw from the League and to cease 
warring against Venice. The duke refused, and this was 
the reason for the ban. Ferrara thereupon, together with 
France, found itself drawn into a ruinous war which led 
to the famous battle of Ravenna, April 1, 1512, which was 
won by Alfonso's artillery. 

It was during this war, and on the occasion of the at- 
tempt of Julius II to capture Ferrara by surprise, that the 
famous Bayard made the acquaintance of Lucretia. After 
the French cavaliers, with their companions in arms, the 
Ferrarese, had captured the fortress they returned in 
triumph to Ferrara where they were received with the 
greatest honors. In remembrance of this occasion the biog- 
rapher Bayard wrote in praise of Lucretia as follows: 
" The good duchess received the French before all the 
others with every mark of favor. She is a pearl in this 
world. She daily gave the most wonderful festivals and 
banquets in the Italian fashion. I venture to say that 
neither in her time nor for many years before has there 
been such a glorious princess, for she is beautiful and good, 
gentle and amiable to everyone, and nothing is more certain 
than this, that, although her husband is a skilful and brave 
prince, the above-named lady, by her graciousness, has 
been of great service to him. ' ' * 

Owing to the death of Gaston de Foix at the battle of 

* J'ose bien dire que, de son temps, ni beaucoup avant, il ne s'est 
point trouve de plus triomphante princesse, car elle e*tait belle, bonne, 
douce et courtoise, & toutes gens. Le Loyal Serviteur Histoire du bon 
Chevalier, le seigneur de Bayard, chap. xlv. 

332 



DEATH OF LUCEETIA'S SON 

Ravenna, the victory of the French turned to defeat and 
the rout of the Pope into victory. Alfonso finding himself 
defenseless, hastened to Rome in July, 1512, to ask forgive- 
ness from Julius, and, although this was accorded him, he 
was saved from destruction, or a fate similar to Caesar 
Borgia's, only by secret flight. With the help of the Co- 
lonna, who conducted him to Marino, he reached Ferrara 
in disguise. 

These were anxious days for Lucretia; for, while she 
was trembling for the life of her husband, she received 
news of the death, abroad, of her son. August 28, 1512, 
the Mantuan agent Stazio Gadio wrote his master Gonzaga 
from Rome, saying news had reached there that the Duke 
of Biselli, son of the Duchess of Ferrara and Don Alfonso 
of Aragon, had died at Bari, where he was living under 
the care of the duchess of that place.* Lucretia herself 
gave this information to a person whose name is not known, 
in a letter dated October 1st, saying, " I am wholly lost in 
bitterness and tears on account of the death of the Duke of 
Biselli, my dearest son, concerning which the bearer of this 
will give you further particulars.! 

We do not know how the unfortunate Rodrigo spent the 
first years following Alexander's death and Caesar's exile 
in Spain, but there is ground for believing that he was 
left in Naples under the guardianship of the cardinals 
Ludovico Borgia and Romolini of Sorrento. By virtue of 
a previous agreement, the King of Spain recognized Lu- 
cretia 's son as Duke of Biselli, and there is an official docu- 
ment of September, 1505, according to which the repre- 
sentative of the little duke placed his oath of allegiance in 

* Despatch of this ambassador in the archives of Mantua, 
f Per trovarmi tuttavia involta in lachryme et amaritudine per la 
morte del Duca di Biselli mio figliolo carrissimo. 

333 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

the hands of the two cardinals above named.* Rodrigo 
may have been brought up by his aunt, Donna Sancia, for 
she was living with her husband in the kingdom of Naples, 
where Don Giuffre had been confirmed in the possession of 
his property. Sancia died childless in the year 1506, just 
as Ferdinand the Catholic appeared in Naples. The king, 
consequently, appropriated a large part of Don Giuffre 's 
estates, although the latter remained Prince of Squillace. 
He married a second time and left several heirs. Of his 
end we know nothing. One of his grandchildren, Anna de 
Borgia, Princess of Squillace, the last of her race, brought 
these estates to the house of Gandia by her marriage with 
Don Francesco Borgia at the beginning of the seventeenth 
century. 

It may have been on the death of Sancia that Rodrigo 
was placed under the protection of another aunt, Isabella 
d'Aragona, his father's eldest sister, the most unfortunate 
woman of the age, wife of Giangaleazzo of Milan, who had 
been poisoned by Ludovico il Moro. The figure of Isabella 
of Milan is the most tragic in the history of Italy of the 
period beginning with the invasion of Charles VIII — an 
epoch filled with a series of disasters that involved every 
dynasty of the country. For she was affected at one and 
the same time by the fall of two great houses, that of Sforza 
and that of Aragon. The saying of Caracciolo in his work, 
De varietate fortunce, regarding the Sforza, namely, that 
there is no tragedy however terrible for which this house 
would not furnish an abundance of material may well be 
applied to both these families. Isabella had beheld the 
fall of her once mighty house, and she had seen her own 
son Francesco seized and taken to France by Louis XII, 

* The instrument is in the Liber Arrendamentorum, from Lu- 
cretia's chancellery. 

334 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA'S SON 

where he died, a priest, in his early manhood. She herself 
had retired to Bari, a city which Ludovico il Moro had 
given up to her in 1499, and of which she remained duchess 
until her death, February 11, 1524. 

Donna Isabella had taken Lucretia's son to herself, and 
from the records of the household expenses of the Duchess 
of Ferrara it appears that he was with her in Bari in 
March, 1505, for on the twenty-sixth of that month there 
is the following entry: " A suit of damask and brocade 
which her Majesty sent her son Don Rodrigo in Bari as a 
present. ' ' * April 3d his mother sent his tutor, Baldassare 
Bonfiglio, who had come to Naples, back to him. This 
man is named in the register under date of February 25, 
1506, as tutor of Don Giovanni. It appears, therefore, that 
this child also was in Bari, and was being educated with 
his playfellow Rodrigo. In October, 1506, we find the little 
Giovanni in Carpi, where he was probably placed .at the 
court of the Pio. From there Lucretia had him brought to 
the court of Ferrara on the date mentioned. She therefore 
was allowed to have this mysterious infante, but not her own 
child Rodrigo, with her. In November, 1506, Giovanni 
must again have been in Carpi, for Lucretia sent him some 
fine linen apparel to that place. f 

Both children were together again in Bari in April, 
1508, for in the record of the household expenses the ex- 
penditures for both, beginning with May of that year, are 
given together, and a certain Don Bartolommeo Grotto is 
mentioned as instructor to both. J The son of Lucretia 

* El quale zipon de Demascho e brochato, sua Signoria el inanda a 
donare a don Rodrigo suo figliolo a Barri. 

f October 24, 1506. Spesa per un nocchiero, che ha condotto Don 
Giovanni Borgia de Finale a Ferrara. November 5, 1506. Tela di renso 
sottile per far eamicie mandato a Carpi al sig. Don Giovanni Borgia. 

X May 15, 1508. Berette per Don Giovanni e Don Rodrigo Bor- 
335 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

and of the murdered Alfonso, therefore, died in the home 
of Donna Isabella in Bari, which was not far from his 
hereditary duchy of Biselli. 

We have a letter written by this unhappy Princess Isa- 
bella a few weeks after the death of the youthful Rodrigo, 
to Perot Castellar, Governor of Biselli: 

Monsignor Perot : We write this merely to ask you to 
compel those of Corato to pay us what they have to pay, 
from the revenue of the illustrious Duke of Biselli, our 
nephew of blessed memory, for shortly a bill will come from 
the illustrious Duchess of Ferrara, and in case the money 
is not ready we might be caused great inconvenience. 
Those of Corato may delay, and we might be compelled to 
find the money at once. Therefore you must see to it that 
we are not subjected to any further inconvenience, and that 
we are paid immediately; for by so doing you will oblige 
us, and we offer ourselves to your service. 

Isabella op Aragon, Duchess of Milan, alone in 
misfortune.* 

Bari, October 14, 1592. 

Rodrigo 'sf mother laid claim to the property he left, 
which, as is shown by certain documents, she recovered 

gia. May 25th. Spesa per guanti a Don Giovanni e Don Rodrigo Borgia. 
October 16th. Bartolommeo Grotto, maestro de li ragazzi, per pagare 
certi libri zoe Donati e regule per detti ragazzi. December 15. Per un 
Virgilio comprato da Don Bartolommeo Grotto a don Giovanni. 

* Unica in disgracia. 

f Letters in the Este archives show that there was another Don 
Rodrigo Borgia, who, in the year 1518, was described as the "brother" 
of the Duchess Lucretia, and was then under the care of tutors in 
Salerno. His guardians were Madama Elisabetta — who may have been his 
mother — and her daughter Giulia. Lucretia, to whom the letters of Gio- 
vanni Cases (Rome, May 12, September 3, 1518) and another by Don 
Giorgio de Ferrara (Rome, December, 1518,) are addressed, seems to 
have acted as a mother to this child. This second Rodrigo died, a 
young clerk, in 1527. August 30th of that year the Ferrarese ambassador 
in Naples, Baldassare da Fino, wrote from Posilipo as follows : Lo Ill mo 

336 



DEATH OF LUCBETIA'S SON 

from Isabella d'Aragona as guardian of the deceased, to 
the amount of several thousand ducats. To do this she was 
forced to engage in a long suit, and as late as March, 1518, 
she sent her agent, Giacomo Naselli, to Rome and Naples 
regarding it. His report to Cardinal Ippolito is still in 
existence. 

Whatever were the circumstances which had compelled 
Lucretia to send her son away, on whom, as we have 
shown, she always lavished her maternal care, the unfor- 
tunate child's experience will always be a blot on her 
memory. 

et Rev. Signor Don Rodrico de Casa Borgia, stando in Ciciano, cum 
la Signora Madama sua matre, sono da 15 giorni che, prima vexato da 
Febre continua, se ne morse — a sheet without any address, in the ar- 
chives of Modena. Again, in January, 1535, this deceased son of Alexander 
VI is mentioned in a report sent from Rome, which contains the follow- 
ing woi'ds : Era venuta nuovamente un Vescovo f ratello di Don Roderico 
Borgia, figliuolo che fu di Papa Alessandro. . . . Avvisi di Roma. 
State archives of Modena. 



22 337 



CHAPTER X 

EFFECTS OF THE WAR — THE ROMAN INFANTE 

The war about Ferrara, thanks to Alfonso's skill and 
the determined resistance of the State, had ended. Julius 
II had seized Modena and Reggio, which was a great loss 
to the State of Ferrara, and consequently the history of 
that country for many years hence is taken up with her 
efforts to regain these cities. Fortunately for Alfonso, 
Julius II died in February, 1513, and Leo X ascended the 
papal throne. Hitherto he had maintained friendly rela- 
tions with the princes of Urbino and Ferrara, who con- 
tinued to look for only amicable treatment from him; but 
both houses were destined to be bitterly deceived by the 
faithless Medici, who deceived all the world. Alfonso 
hastened to attend Leo's coronation in Rome, and, believing 
a complete reconciliation with the Holy See would soon be 
effected, he returned to Ferrara. 

There Lucretia had won universal esteem and affection ; 
she had become the mother of the people. She lent a ready 
ear to the suffering and helped all who were in need. 
Famine, high prices, and depletion of the treasury were the 
consequences of the war; Lucretia had even pawned her 
jewels. She put aside, as Jovius says, " the pomps and 
vanities of the world to which she had been accustomed 
from childhood, and gave herself up to pious works, and 
founded convents and hospitals. This was due as 
much to her own nature as it was to her past life and the 

338 




LEO X. 

From an engraving published in 1580. 



EFFECTS OF THE WAR 

fate she had suffered. Most women who have lived much 
and loved much finally become fanatics; bigotry is often 
only the last form which feminine vanity assumes. The 
recollection of a world of vice, and of crimes committed by 
her nearest kinsmen, and also of her own sins, must have 
constantly disturbed Lucretia's conscience. Other women 
who, like her, were among the chief characters in the his- 
tory of the Borgias developed precisely the same frame of 
mind and experienced a similar need of religious consola- 
tion. Cassar's widow ended her life in a convent; Gandia's 
did the same; Alexander's mistress became a fanatic; 
and if we had any record of the adulteress Giulia 
Farnese we should certainly find that she passed the closing 
years of her life either as a saint in a convent or engaged 
in pious works. 

The year 1513, following the war in Ferarra, marked a 
decided change in Lucretia's life, for from that time it 
took a special religious turn. It did not, however, degen- 
erate into bigotry or fanaticism ; this was prevented by the 
vigorous Alfonso and her children, and by her court duties. 
The war had deprived Ferrara of much of its brilliancy, 
although it was still one of the most attractive of the 
princely courts of Italy. During the following years of 
peace Alfonso devoted himself to the cultivation of the 
arts. The most famous masters of Ferrara — Dossi, Garo- 
falo, and Michele Costa — worked for him in the castle, 
in Belriguardo, and Belfiore. Titian, who was frequently a 
guest in Ferrara, executed some paintings for him, and 
the duke likewise gave Raphael some commissions. He 
even founded a museum of antiquities. In Lucretia's cab- 
inet there was a Cupid by Michael Angelo. The predilec- 
tion of the duchess for the fine arts, however, was not 
very strong; in this respect she was not to be compared 

339 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

with her sister-in-law, Isabella of Mantua, who maintained 
constant relations with all the prominent artists of the 
age and had her agents in all the large cities of Italy to 
keep her informed regarding noteworthy productions in 
the domain of the arts. 

From 1513 Ferrara's brilliancy was somewhat dimmed 
by the greater fame of the court of Leo X. The passion 
of this member of the Medici family for the arts attracted 
to Rome the most brilliant men of Italy, among whom were 
the poets Tebaldeo, Sadoleto, and Bembo — the last became 
Leo's secretary. Both the Strozzi were dead. Aldo, upon 
whose career as a printer and scholar during his early 
years Lucretia had not been without influence, was living in 
Venice, and from there he kept up a literary correspond- 
ence with his patroness. Celio Calcagnini remained true 
to Ferrara. The university continued to flourish. Lu- 
cretia was very friendly with the noble Venetian, Trissino, 
Ariosto 's not altogether successful rival in epic poetry. 
There are in existence five letters written by Trissino to 
Lucretia in her last years.* Ferrara's pride, however, was 
Ariosto, and Lucretia knew him when he was at the zenith 
of his fame. He, however, dedicated his poem neither to 
her nor to Alfonso, but to the unworthy Cardinal Ippolito, 
in whose service a combination of circumstances had placed 
him. No princely house was ever glorified more highly 
than was the house of Este by Ariosto, for the Orlando 
Furioso will cause it to be remembered for all time ; so long 
as the Italian language endures it will hold an im- 
mortal place in literature. Lucretia too was given a posi- 
tion of honor in the poem ; but however beautiful the place 
which she there holds, Ariosto ought to have bestowed 

* Printed in the Italian edition of Roscoe's Life of Leo X, vii, 
300. 

340 



THE ROMAN INFANTE 

greater praise on her if she was the inspiration which he 
required for his great work. 

Lucretia 's relations with her husband, which had never 
been based upon love, and which were not of a passionate 
nature, apparently continued to grow more favorable for 
her. In April, 1514, she had borne him a third son, Ales- 
sandro, who died at the age of two years ; July 4, 1515, she 
bore a daughter, Leonora, and November 1, 1616, another 
son, Francesco. With no little satisfaction Alfonso found 
himself the father of a number of children — all his legiti- 
mate heirs. He was engrossed in his own affairs, but, 
nevertheless, he was highly pleased with the esteem and 
admiration now bestowed upon his wife. While the ad- 
miration she excited in former years was due to her youth- 
ful beauty, it was now owing to her virtues. She who was 
once the most execrated woman of her age had won a place 
of the highest honor. Caviceo even ventured, when he 
wished to praise the famous Isabella Gonzaga, to say that 
she approached the perfection of Lucretia. Her past, 
apparently, was so completely forgotten that even her 
name, Borgia, was always mentioned with respect. 

About this time Lucretia was reminded of her life in 
Rome by a member of her family who was very near to her, 
Giovanni Borgia, the mysterious Infante of Rome, formerly 
Duke of Nepi and Camerino, and companion in destiny of 
the little Rodrigo who died in Bari. He had disappeared 
from the stage in 1508, and where he was during several 
succeeding years we do not know; but in 1517, a young 
man of nineteen or twenty, he came from Naples to Ro- 
magna, where he was shipwrecked. His baggage had been 
saved by the commune of Pesaro, and was claimed by a 
representative of Lucretia, December 2d ; in the legal docu- 
ment Giovanni Borgia was described as her " brother." 

341 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Other instruments show that he remained at his sister's 
court as late as December, 1517.* Her husband, there- 
fore, did not refuse to allow her to shelter her kinsman. 
In December, 1518, Don Giovanni went to France, where 
the Duke Alfonso had him presented to the king. Lucretia 
had given him presents to take to the king and queen.f 

He remained at the French court some time for the 
purpose of making his fortune, in which, however, he did 
not succeed. 

Thereupon the Infante of Rome again disappeared 
from view until the year 1530, when we find him in Rome, 
laying claim to the Duchy of Camerino. The last Varano, 
Giammaria, had returned thither on Csesar's overthrow, 
and had been recognized by Julius II as a vassal of the 
Church. In April, 1515, Leo X made him Duke of Came- 
rino and married him to his own niece, the beautiful 
Catarina Cibo. Giammaria died in August, 1527, leaving 
as his sole heir his daughter Giulia, who was not yet of 
age. An illegitimate son of the house of Varano laid claim 
to Camerino, and he was ready to enforce his demands with 
arms, but he was frustrated in his attempt by a suit 
brought by Giovanni Borgia, the first duke, who was sup- 
ported by Alfonso of Ferrara in his efforts. He furnished 
him with several documents dating from the time of Alex- 
ander VI which referred to his rights to Camerino, and 
which had been placed by Lucretia in the chancellery of the 

* Cittadella N 31. She endeavored to secure the Prebend of S. 
Jacopo for him. In her record of household expenses there are entries 
of purchases of clothing for him, beginning with December 23, 1517. 

f Two golden bracelets — per donare alia Regina de Franza, 27 Aprile, 
1518; other articles of personal adornment — mandati per lo Illmo D. 
Joanne Borgia al Re de Franza (November 16, 1518). The ambassadors 
Carlo da Correggio and Pistofilo Bonaventura informed Lucretia of his 
favorable reception at the court of France, in letters dated December, 
1518, and January to March, 1519. State archives of Modena. 

342 



THE ROMAN INFANTE 

house of Este. Don Giovanni had even gone to Charles V, 
in Bologna, where the famous congress had been sitting 
since December, 1529. The emperor had advised him to en- 
deavor to secure his rights by process of law in Rome, 
through the Pope. From that city, in 1530, the infante 
wrote a letter to Duke Alfonso, in which he informed him 
of his affairs, and asked him to have further search made in 
the archives of the Este for documents concerning himself. 
Don Giovanni began suit. In a voluminous document 
dated June 29, 1530, he describes himself not only as Domi- 
cellus Romanus Principalis, but also as " orator of the 
Pope." From this it appears that he — one of the illegiti- 
mate sons of Alexander VI — was a prominent gentleman 
in Rome, and was even in the Pope's service. The Roman 
Ruota decided the suit against Giovanni, who had to pay 
the costs. In a brief dated June 7, 1532, Clement VII 
commanded him to cease annoying Giulia Varano and her 
mother with any further claims.* From that time we hear 
nothing more of this Borgia except from a letter written in 
Rome, November 19, 1547, apparently by a Ferrarese agent 
to Ercole II, then reigning duke. In it he mentions the 
death of Don Giovanni. The letter is as follows : 



Don Giovanni Borgia has just died in Genoa; it is 
said he left many thousand ducats in Valencia. Here 
(in Rome) he had a little clothing, two horses, and a vine- 
yard worth about three hundred ducats. As he left no 
will the property will be divided between your Excellency, 
your brothers, and among others the nobles of the Mattei 
family here, the Duke of Gandia, and the children of the 

* Documents in the State archives of Florence, among the papers 
regarding Urbino. CI. I. Div. C. Fil. xiv. In 1534 Giulia Varano 
married Guidobaldo II of Urbino and brought him Camerino, which, 
however, he was compelled to relinquish in 1539 to Paul III, who gave it 
to his nephew Octavio Farnese. 

343 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Duke of Valentino, provided their rights are not prejudiced 
by the fact that they are natural children. I will not 
omit to inform myself regarding the money in Valencia, 
and will report to your Excellency.* 

* Copia di una lettera da Roma di 19 Novembre, 1847. State archives 
of Modena. 



344 



CHAPTER XI 

LAST YEARS AND DEATH OP VANNOZZA 

In the same year that this her father's last son ap- 
peared at her court Lucretia also learned of the death of 
her mother. Vannozza was already a widow when Alex- 
ander VI died. During his last illness she had placed her- 
self under the protection of the troops of her son Csesar. 
This she was able to do as he himself was sick at the same 
time. There are documents in existence which show that 
immediately after Alexander's death, and while the papal 
throne was vacant, she was living in the palace of the Car- 
dinal of S. Clemente in the Borgo. As Ca?sar was com- 
pelled to betake himself to Nepi she accompanied him 
thither, and on the election of Piccolomini she returned to 
the papal city. 

She did not follow her sons to Naples, but remained in 
Rome, where affairs became normal after the election of 
Rovere to the papacy. The retainers of the Borgia feared 
that certain suits would be brought against them. March 
6, 1504, a chamberlain of Cardinal S. Angelo, who had been 
poisoned, was condemned to death, and in a loud voice he 
proclaimed that he had committed the murder on the ex- 
plicit command of Alexander and Cgesar.* Cardinals 
Romolini and Ludovico Borgia at once fled to Naples. Don 
Micheletto, the man who executed Caesar's bloody orders, 
was a prisoner in the castle of S. Angelo. The Venetian 

* Despatch of Beltrando Costabili to Ercole, Rome, March 7, 1504. 

345 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ambassador, Giustinian, informed his government in May, 
1504, that Micheletto was charged with having caused the 
death of a number of persons, among them the Duke of Gan- 
dia, Varano of Camerino, Astorre and Ottaviano Manfredi, 
the Duke of Biselli, the youthful Bernardino of Sermoneta, 
and the Bishop of Cagli. Micheletto was brought before the 
representatives of the Senate for examination. He was 
placed upon the rack and confessed, among other things, 
that it was the Pope Alexander himself who had given the 
command for the murder of the youthful Alfonso of Bi- 
selli. This the magistrate immediately reported to Fer- 
rara.* 

As Cgesar was out of the way, Vannozza was still able 
to reckon on the protection of certain powerful friends, 
especially the Farnese, the Cesarini, and several cardinals. 
She feared her property would be confiscated, for the title 
to much of it was questionable. Early in 1504 Ludovico 
Mattei charged her with having stolen, in March, 1503, 
through her paid servants, eleven hundred and sixty sheep 
while Cassar was carrying on his war against the Orsini. 
These sheep had been sent by Maria dAragona, wife of 
Giovanni Giordano Orsini, to Mattel's pastures for safety. 
Vannozza was found guilty, f 

She endeavored in every way to save her property. 
December 4, 1503, she gave the Church of S. Maria del 
Popolo a deed of her house on the Piazza Pizzo di Merlo 

* Magnifico et prestanti viro maiori honorandmo D. Ludovico Ro- 
manellio Ducali Secretario Ferrarie. Omissis. II Papa mi ha mandato 
Don Michiele il quale habianio cominciato examinare cum turtura de 
queste sue sceleranze fin qui e sta saldo et nulla confessa non so mo se 
fara cussi in futurum. Omissis. Dixe che Papa Alexandre fu quello 
che fece ammazzare Don Alfonso, marito che fu della Ducessa. Rome 
XX. Lulii, 1504. Thadeus Locumtenens Senatus. In the archives of 
Modena. 

f The documents are in the archives of the Sancta Sanctorum. 

346 



LAST YEARS OF VANNOZZA 

and of her family chapel, reserving the use of it during her 
life. The Augustinians on their part bound themselves to 
say a mass for Carlo Canale March 24th, another October 
13th for Giorgio di Croce, and a third on the day of Van- 
nozza 's own death. In this instrument she calls herself 
widow of Carlo Canale of Mantua, apostolic secretary of 
the deceased Alexander VI, and she speaks of Giorgio di 
Croce as her first husband. This deed was executed in the 
Borgo of St. Peter's in the residence of Agapitus of 
Emelia.* From this it appears that at the close of Decem- 
ber Vannozza was still living in the Borgo, and under the 
protection of her son's own chancellor, while Caesar himself 
was a prisoner in the Torre Borgia in the Vatican, and not 
until he left Rome forever did she remove from the Borgo. 

April 1, 1504, a dwelling on the Piazza of the Holy 
Apostles in the Trevi quarter, which was situated in a 
district where the Colonna were all-powerful, was specified 
as her residence. The Colonna had suffered less than 
others from Caesar, and by virtue of an agreement made 
with him they were enabled to retain their property after 
the death of Alexander. Vannozza had sold certain other 
houses which she owned to the Roman Giuliano de Lenis, 
and April 1, 1504, he annulled the sale, declaring that it 
was only through fear of force in consequence of the death 
of Alexander that it had taken place, f 

As she now had nothing more to fear, she again took 
up her abode in the house on the Piazza Branca, as is 
shown by an instrument of November, 1502, in which she 
is described as " Donna Vannozza de Cataneis of the 
Regola Quarter," where this house was situated. This 

* Act of December 4, 1503, in the same archives, 
f Archives of the Sancta Sanctorum. The instrument is dated 
April 1, 1504. 

347 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

document is regarding a complaint which the goldsmith 
Nardo Antonazzi of this same quarter had lodged against 
her. 

The artist demanded payment for a silver cross which 
he had made for Vannozza in the year 1500; he charged 
her with having appropriated this work of art without pay- 
ing for it, which, he stated, frequently happened " at the 
time when the Duke of Valentino controlled the whole 
city and nearly all of Italy." We have not all the docu- 
ments bearing on the case, but from the statements of wit- 
nesses for the accused it appears that she had grounds for 
bringing a suit for libel.* 

While Vannozza may not have been actually placed in 
possession of the castle of Bleda near Viterbo by Alex- 
ander VI, some of its appanages were allotted to her. July 
6, 1513, she complained to the Cardinal- Vicar Rafael 
Riario that the commune of the place was withholding cer- 
tain sums of money which, she claimed, belonged to her. 
This document, which is on parchment, is couched in 
pompous phraseology and is addressed to all the magis- 
trates of the world by name and title. f 

Vannozza lived to witness the changes in affairs in the 
Vatican under three of Alexander's successors. There 
the Rovere and the Medici occupied the place once held 
by b°r own all-powerful children. She saw the Papacy 
changing into a secular power, and she must have known 
that but for Alexander and Caesar it could never have 
done this. If, perchance, she saw from a distance the 
mighty Julius II, for example, when he returned to Rome 
after seizing Bologna, entering the city with the pomp of 
an emperor, this woman, lost in the multitude, must have 
exclaimed with bitter irony that her own son Cassar had 
* Archives of the Sancta Sanctorum. f Ibid. 

348 



LAST YEARS OF VANNOZZA 

a part in this triumph, and that he had been instrumental 
in raising Julius II to the Papacy. It must have been a 
source of no little satisfaction to her to know that this pope 
recognized her son's importance when he wrote to the 
Florentines in November, 1503, saying that " on account 
of the preeminent virtues and great services of the Duke 
of Romagna " he loved him with a father's love. She 
may also have been acquainted with Macchiavelli 's 
" Prince," in which the genial statesman describes Caesar 
as the ideal ruler. 

Although the power of the Borgias had passed away 
and their children were either dead or scattered, their 
greatness was felt in the city as long as Vannozza lived. 
Her past experiences caused her to be looked upon as one 
of the most noteworthy personalities of Rome, where 
every one was curious to make her acquaintance. If we 
may compare two persons who differed in greatness, but 
whose destinies and positions were not dissimilar, it might 
be said that Vannozza at that time occupied the same 
position in Rome in which Letitia Bonaparte found her- 
self after the overthrow of her powerful offspring. 

She looked with pride on her daughter, the Duchess 
of Ferrara, " la plus triomphante princesse," as the biog- 
rapher Bayard calls her. She never saw her again, for 
she Avould scarcely have ventured to undertake a journey 
to Ferrara, but she continued to correspond with her. In 
the archives of the house of Este are nine letters written 
by Vannozza in the years 1515, 1516, and 1517. Seven of 
them are addressed to Cardinal Ippolito and two to Lu- 
cretia. These letters are not in her own handwriting but 
are dictated. They disclose a powerful will, a cast of 
mind that might be described as rude and egotistical, and 
an insinuating character. They are devoted chiefly to 

349 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

practical matters and to requests of various sorts. On one 
occasion she sent the cardinal a present of two antique 
columns which had been exhumed in her vineyard. She 
also kept up her intercourse with her son Giuffre, Prince 
of Squillace. In 1515 she had received his ten-year-old 
son into her house in Rome apparently for the purpose 
of educating him.* 

An expression which Vannozza used in signing her let- 
ters defines her attitude and position, — " The fortunate 
and unfortunate Vannozza de Cataneis," or " Your for- 
tunate and unfortunate mother, Vannozza Borgia," — she 
used the family name in her private affairs, but not offi- 
cially. 

Her last letter to Lucretia, written December 19, 1515, 
which refers to her son Caesar's former secretary, Agapitus 
of Emelia, is as follows : 

Illustrious Lady: My greeting and respects. Your 
Excellency will certainly remember favorably the services 
of Messer Agapitus of Emelia to his Excellency our duke, 
and the love which he has always shown us. It is, there- 
fore, meet that his kinsmen be helped and advanced in 
every way possible. Shortly before his death he relin- 
quished all his benefices in favor of his nephew Giambat- 
tista of Aquila; among them are some in the bishopric of 
Capua which are worth very little. If your Excellency 
wishes to do me a kindness I will ask you, for the reasons 
above mentioned, to interest yourself in behalf of these 
nephews to whom I have referred. Nicola, the bearer of 
this, who is himself a nephew of Agapitus, will explain to 
your Excellency at length what should be done. And now 
farewell to your Excellency, to whom I commend myself. 

Rome, December 19, 1515. 

Postscript: In this matter your Excellency will do as 
you think best, as I have written the above from a sense of 

* This was reported to Cardinal Ippolito by Girolamo Sacrati from 
Rome, November 2, 1515. Archives of Modena. 

350 



LAST YEAES OF VANNOZZA 

obligation. Therefore you may do only what you know 
will please his Worthiness and, so far as the present is 
concerned, you may answer as you see fit. 

Vannozza, who prays for you constantly. 

Vannozza clearly was an honor to the Borgia school of 
diplomacy. 

Agapitus dei Gerardi, who wrote so many of Caesar's 
letters and documents, had remained true to the Borgias, 
as is shown by this letter, until his death, which occurred 
in Rome, August 2, 1515. Vannozza, of a truth, had seen 
many of the former friends, flatterers, and parasites of 
her house desert it; but a number, among whom were sev- 
eral important personages, remained true. She, as mother 
of the Duchess of Ferrara, was still able to exert some in- 
fluence; she was living a respectable life, in comfortable 
circumstances, as a woman of position, and was described 
as la magnified e nobile Madanna Vannozza. She also kept 
up her relations with such of the cardinals as were Span- 
iards and relatives of Alexander VI, or who were his 
creatures. She survived most of them. Of the two car- 
dinals Giovanni Borgia, one had passed away in 1500, the 
other in 1503 ; Francesco and Ludovico died in 1511 
and 1512 respectively. Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini passed 
away in 1510. Vannozza, in fact, survived all the favor- 
ites and creatures of Alexander in the College of Cardi- 
nals with the exception of Farnese, Adrian Castellesi, and 
d ' Albret, — Csesar 's brother-in-law. 

By that sort of piety to which senescent female sinners 
everywhere and at all times devote themselves she secured 
new friends. She was an active fanatic and was constantly 
seen in the churches, at the confessionals, and in intimate 
intercourse with the pious brothers and hospitalers. In 
this way she made the acquaintance of Paul Jovius, who 

351 



LUCRETIA BOEGIA 

describes her as an upright woman (donna dabbene). If 
she had lived another decade she would probably have 
been canonized. She endowed a number of religious 
foundations — the hospitals of S. Salvator in the Lateran, 
of S. Maria in Porticu, the Consolazione for the Com- 
pany of the Annunziata in the Minerva, and the S. Lo- 
renzo in Damaso, as is shown by her will, which is dated 
January 15, 1517.* 

For years there were inscriptions in the hospitals of 
the Lateran and of the Consolazione which referred to her 
endowments and also to provisions for masses on the anni- 
versaries of her death and those of her two husbands. 

Vannozza died in Rome, November 26, 1518. Her 
death did not pass unnoticed, as the following letter, writ- 
ten by a Venetian, shows: 

The day before yesterday died Madonna Vannozza, 
once the mistress of Pope Alexander and mother of the 
Duchess of Ferrara and the Duke of Valentino. That 
night I happened to be at a place where I heard the death 
announced, according to the Roman custom, in the follow- 
ing formal words : ' Messer Paolo gives notice of the death 
of Madonna Vannozza, mother of the Duke of Gandia; 
she belonged to the Gonf alone Company.' She was buried 
yesterday in S. Maria del Popolo, with the greatest honors, 
— almost like a cardinal. She was sixty-six years of age. 
She left all her property, — which was not inconsiderable, — 
to S. Giovanni in Laterano. The Pope's chamberlain at- 
tended the obsequies, which was unusual, f 

Marcantonio Altieri, one of the foremost men of Rome, 
who was guardian of the Company of the Gonf alone ad 
Sancta Sanctorum, and as such made an inventory of the 
property of the brotherhood in 1527, drew up a memorial 

* Vannozza's will, in the archives of the Capitol, Cred. xiv, T. 72, 
p. 305, among the instruments drawn by the notary Andrea Carosi. 
f In the diary of Marino Sanuto, vol. xxvi, fol. 135. 
352 



DEATH OF VANNOZZA 

regarding her, the manuscript of which is still preserved 
in the archives of the association, and is as follows : 

We must not forget the endowments made by the re- 
spected and honored lady, Madonna Vannozza of the house 
of Catanei, the happy mother of the illustrious gentlemen, 
the Duke of Gandia, the Duke of Valentino, the Prince of 
Squillace, and of Madonna Lueretia, Duchess of Ferrara. 
As she wished to endow the Company with her worldly 
goods she gave it her jewels, which were of no slight value, 
and so much more that the Company in a few years was 
able to discharge certain obligations, with the help also of 
the noble gentlemen, Messer Mariano Castellano, and my 
dear Messer Rafael Casale, who had recently been guardians. 
She made an agreement with the great and famous silver- 
smith Caradosso by which she gave him two thousand 
ducats so that he with his magnificent work of art might 
gratify the wish of that noble and honorable woman. In ad- 
dition she left us so much property that we shall be able to 
take care of the annual rent of four hundred ducats and 
also feed the poor and the sick, who, unfortunately, are very 
numerous. Out of gratitude for her piety and devout mind 
and for these endowments our honorable society unani- 
mously and cheerfully decided not only to celebrate her ob- 
sequies with magnificent pomp, but also to honor the de- 
ceased with a proud and splendid monument. It was also 
decided from that time forth to have mass said on the anni- 
versary of her death in the Church del Popolo, where she 
is buried, and to provide for other ceremonies, with an 
attendance of men bearing torches and tapers, in all de- 
votion, for the purpose of commending her soul's salvation 
to God, and also to show the world that we hate and loathe 
ingratitude. 



Thus this woman's vanity led her to provide for a 
ceremonious funeral; she wanted all Rome to talk of her 
on that day as the mistress of Alexander VI and the 
mother of so many famous children. Leo X bestowed an 
official character upon her funeral by having his court 
attend it; by doing this he recognized Vannozza either 
23 353 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

as the widow of Alexander VI or as the mother of the 
Duchess of Ferrara. As the Company of the Gonfalone 
was composed of the foremost burghers and nobles of 
Rome, almost the entire city attended her funeral. 
Vannozza was buried in S. Maria del Popolo in her family 
chapel, by the side of her unfortunate son Giovanni, Duke 
of Gandia. We do not know whether a marble monument 
was erected to her memory, but the following inscription 
was placed over her grave by her executor: " To Va- 
notia Catanea, mother of the Duke Cassar of Valentino, 
Giovanni of Gandia, Giuffre of Squillace, and Lucretia of 
Ferrara, conspicuous for her uprightness, her piety, her dis- 
cretion, and her intelligence, and deserving much on ac- 
count of what she did for the Lateran Hospital. Erected 
by Hieronymus Picus, fiduciary-commissioner and executor 
of her will. She lived seventy-seven years, four months, 
and thirteen days. She died in the year 1518, Novem- 
ber 26th." 

Vannozza doubtless had passed away believing that she 
had expiated her sins and purchased heaven with gold and 
silver and pious legacies. She had even purchased the 
pomp of a ceremonious funeral and a lie which was graven 
deep on her tombstone. For more than two hundred years 
the priests in S. Maria del Popolo sang masses for the re- 
pose of her soul, and when they ceased it was perhaps less 
owing to their conviction that enough of them had been said 
for this woman than from a growing belief in the trust- 
worthiness of historical criticism. Later, owing either to 
hate or a sense of shame, her very tombstone disappeared, 
not a trace of it being left. 



354 



CHAPTER XII 

DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA — CONCLUSION 

The State of Ferrara again found itself in serious diffi- 
culties, for Leo X, following the example of Alexander VI, 
was trying to build up a kingdom for his nephew Lo- 
renzo de' Medici. As early as 1516 Leo had made him Duke 
of Urbino, having expelled Guidobaldo's legitimate heirs 
from their city. Francesco Maria Rovere, his wife, and his 
adopted mother, Elisabetta, were in Mantua, — the asylum 
of all exiled princes. Leo was consuming with a desire 
also to drive the Este out of Ferrara, and it was only the 
protection of France that saved Alfonso from a war with 
the Pope. The duke, to whom the Pope refused to restore 
the cities of Modena and Reggio, therefore went to the 
court of Louis XII in November, 1518, for the purpose of 
interesting him in his affairs. In February, 1519, he re- 
turned to Ferrara, where he learned of the death of his 
brother-in-law, the Marchese Francesco Gonzaga, of Man- 
tua, which occurred February 20th. The last of March 
Lucretia wrote to his widow, Isabella, as follows : 

Illustrious Lady, Sister-in-law, and most honored 
Sister: The great loss by death of your Excellency's hus- 
band, of blessed memory, has caused me such profound 
grief, that instead of being able to offer consolation I my- 
self am in need of it. I sympathize with your Excellency 
in this loss, and I cannot tell you how grieved and de- 
pressed I am, but, as it has occurred and it has pleased our 
Lord so to do, we must acquiesce in his will. Therefore I 

355 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

beg and urge your Majesty to bear up under this misfor- 
tune as befits your position, and I know that you will do 
so. I will at present merely add that I commend myself 
and offer my services to you at all times. 

Your Sister-in-law Lucretia, Duchess of Ferrara. 

Ferrara, the last of March, 1519. 

The Marchese was succeeded by his eldest son, Federico. 
In 1530 the Emperor Charles V created him first Duke of 
Mantua. The following year he married Margherita di 
Montferrat. This was the same Federico who had formerly 
been selected to be the husband of Caesar 's daughter Luisa. 
His famous mother lived, a widow, until February 13, 1539. 

Alfonso again found his wife in a precarious condition. 
She was near her confinement, and June 14, 1519, she bore 
a child which was still-born. Eight days later, knowing that 
her end was near, she dictated an epistle to Pope Leo. It is 
the last letter we have of Lucretia, and as it was written 
while she was dying, it is of the deepest import, enabling 
us to look into her soul, which for the last time was tor- 
mented by the recollection of the terrors and errors of her 
past life of which she had long since purged herself. 

Most Holy Father and Honored Master: With all 
respect I kiss your Holiness 's feet and commend myself 
in all humility to your holy mercy. Having suffered for 
more than two months, early on the morning of the 14th 
of the present, as it pleased God, I gave birth to a daughter, 
and hoped then to find relief from my sufferings, but I did 
not, and shall be compelled to pay my debt to nature. So 
great is the favor which our merciful Creator has shown 
me, that I approach the end of my life with pleasure, 
knowing that in a few hours, after receiving for the last 
time all the holy sacraments of the Church, I shall be re- 
leased. Having arrived at this moment, I desire as a 
Christian, although I am a sinner, to ask your Holiness, in 
your mercy, to give me all possible spiritual consolation 
and your Holiness 's blessing for my soul. Therefore I 

356 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA 

offer myself to you in all humility and commend my hus- 
band and my children, all of whom are your servants, to 
your Holiness 's mercy. In Ferrara, June 22, 1519, at the 
fourteenth hour. 

Your Holiness 's humble servant, 

LUCRETIA d'EsTE. 

The letter is so calm and contained, so free from affec- 
tation, that one is inclined to ask whether a dying woman 
could have written it if her conscience had been burdened 
with the crimes with which Alexander's unfortunate 
daughter had been charged. 

She died in the presence of Alfonso on the night of 
June 24th, and the duke immediately wrote his nephew 
Federico Gonzaga as follows: 

Illustrious Sir and Honored Brother and Nephew: 
It has just pleased our Lord to summon unto Him- 
self the soul of the illustrious lady, the duchess, my 
dearest wife. I hasten to inform you of the fact as our 
mutual love leads me to believe that the happiness or un- 
happiness of one is likewise the happiness or unhappiness 
of the other. I cannot write this without tears, knowing 
myself to be deprived of such a dear and sweet companion. 
For such her exemplary conduct and the tender love which 
existed between us made her to me. On this sad occasion 
I would indeed seek consolation from your Excellency, but 
I know that you will participate in my grief, and I prefer 
to have some one mingle his tears with mine rather than 
endeavor to console me. I commend myself to your 
Majesty. Ferrara, June 24, 1519, at the fifth hour of the 
night. 

Alfonsus, Duke of Ferrara.* 

The Marchese Federico sent his uncle Giovanni Gon- 
zaga to Ferrara, who wrote him from there as follows : 

Your Excellency must not be surprised when I tell you 
that I shall leave here to-morrow, for no obsequies will be 

* This letter is quoted by Zucchetti. 

357 






LUCRETIA BORGIA 

celebrated, only the offices said in the parish church. His 
Excellency the Duke accompanied his illustrious consort's 
body to the grave. She is buried in the Convent of the 
Sisters of Corpus Christi in the same vault where repose 
the remains of his mother. Her death has caused the great- 
est grief throughout the entire city, and his ducal majesty 
displays the most profound sorrow. Great things are re- 
ported concerning her life, and it is said that she has 
worn the cilice for about ten years, and has gone to confes- 
sion daily during the last two years, and has received the 
communion three or four times every month. Your Ex- 
cellency's ever devoted servant, 

Johannes de Gonzaga, Marquis.* 
Ferrara, June 28, 1519. 

Among the numerous letters of condolence which the 
duke received was one in Spanish from the mysterious In- 
fante Don Giovanni Borgia, who was then in Poissy, 
France. The duke himself had informed him of the 
death of his consort, and Don Giovanni lamented the loss 
of his " sister," who had also been his greatest patron. 

The graves of Lucretia and Alfonso and numerous other 
members of the house of Este in Ferrara have disap- 
peared. No picture of the famous woman exists either in 
that city or in Modena. Although many, doubtless, were 
painted, none has been preserved. In Ferrara there were 
numerous artists, Dossi, Garofalo, Cosma, and others. 
Titian may have painted the beautiful duchess's portrait. 
His likeness of Isabella d'Este Gonzaga, Lucretia 's rival 
in beauty, is preserved in the Belvedere gallery in Vienna ; 
it shows a charming feminine face of oval contour, with 
regular lines, brown eyes, and an expression of gentle 
womanliness. There is no portrait of Lucretia from this 
master's hand, for the one in the Doria Gallery in Rome, 

* Printed in Zucchetti's work. Che da forse dieci anni in qua la 
portava el silizio. . . . This is not, as Zucchetti supposes, the goat-hair 
shirt. 

358 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA 

which some ascribe to him and others to Paul Veronese, — 
although this artist was not born until 1528, — is one of the 
many fictions we find in galleries. In the Doria Gallery- 
there is a life-sized figure of an Amazon with a helmet in 
her hand, ascribed to Dosso Dossi, which is said to be a 
likeness of Vannozza. 

Monsignor Antonelli, custodian of the numismatic col- 
lection of Ferrara, has a portrait in oil which may be that 
of Lucretia Borgia, — not because it has her name in some- 
what archaic letters, but because the features are not un- 
like those of her medals. This portrait, however (the 
eyes are gray), is uncertain, as are also two portraits 
in majolica in the possession of Rawdon Brown, in Venice, 
which he regards as the work of Alfonso himself, who 
amused himself in making this ware. Even if there were 
any ground for this belief, the portraits, as they are merely 
in the decorative style of majolica, would resemble the 
original but slightly. 

The portrait in the Dresden gallery which is catalogued 
as a likeness of Lucretia Borgia is not authentic. There 
are no undoubted portraits of her except those on the 
medals which were struck during her life in Ferrara. One 
of these is reproduced as the frontispiece* of the present 
volume; it is the finest of all and is one of the most note- 
worthy medals of the Renaissance. It probably was en- 
graved by Filippino Lippi in 1502, on the occasion of 
Lucretia 's marriage. On the reverse is a design character- 
istic not only of the age but especially of Lucretia. It is 
a Cupid with out-stretched wings bound to a laurel, sus- 
pended from which are a violin and a roll of music. The 
quiver of the god of love hangs broken on a branch of the 
laurel, and his bow, with the cord snapped, lies on the 

* In this translation it appears on the cover. 
359 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

ground. The inscription on the reverse is as follows: 
" Virtuti Ac Format Pudicitia Prseciosissimum." Perhaps 
the artist by this symbolism wished to convey the idea that 
the time for love's free play had passed and by the laurel 
tree intended to suggest the famous house of Este. Al- 
though this interpretation might apply to every bride, it 
is especially appropriate for Lucretia Borgia. 

Whoever examines this girlish head with its long flow- 
ing tresses will be surprised, for no contrast could be 
greater than that between this portrait and the common 
conception of Lucretia Borgia. The likeness shows a 
maidenly, almost childish face, of a peculiar expression, 
without any classic lines. It could scarcely be described 
as beautiful. The Marchesana of Cotrone spoke the truth 
when in writing to Francesco she said that Lucretia was 
not especially beautiful, but that she had what might be 
called a " dolce ciera," — a sweet face. The face resembles 
that of her father — as shown by the best medals which we 
have of him — but slightly; the only likeness is in the 
strongly outlined nose. Lucretia 's forehead was arched, 
while Alexander's was flat; her chin was somewhat re- 
treating while his was in line with the lips. 

Another medal shows Lucretia with the hair confined 
and the head covered with a net, and has the so-called 
lenza, a sort of fillet set with precious stones or pearls. 
The hair covers the ear and descends to the neck, according 
to the fashion of the day, which we also see in a beautiful 
medal of Elizabetta Gonzaga of Urbino. 

The original sources from which the material for this 
book has been derived would place the reader in a position 
to form his own opinion regarding Lucretia Borgia, and 
his view would approximate a correct one, or at least 
would be nearer correct than the common conception of this 

360 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA 

woman. Men of past ages are merely problems which we 
endeavor to solve. If we err in our conception of our con- 
temporaries how much more likely are we to be wrong when 
we endeavor to analyze men whose very forms are shadowy. 
All the circumstances of their personal life, of their nature, 
the times, and their environment, — of which they were the 
product, — all the secrets of their being exist only as dis- 
connected fragments from which we are forced to frame 
our conception of their characters. History is merely a 
world- judgment based upon the law of causality. Many 
of the characters of history would regard their portraits 
in books as wholly distorted and would smile at the opinion 
formed of them. 

Lucretia Borgia might correspond with the one derived 
from the documents of her time, which show her as an 
amiable, gentle, thoughtless, and unfortunate woman. 
Her misfortunes, in life, were due in part to a fate for which 
she was in no way responsible, and, after her death, in the 
opinion which was formed regarding her character. 
The brand which had been set upon her forehead was re- 
moved by herself when she became Duchess of Ferrara, 
but on her death it reappeared. How soon this happened 
is shown by what the Rovere in Urbino said of her. In 
the year 1532 it was arranged that Guidobaldo II, son of 
Francesco Maria and Eleonora Gonzaga, should marry 
Giulia Varano, although he himself wished to marry a 
certain Orsini. His father, directed his attention to the un- 
equal alliances into which princes were prone to enter, and 
among others to that of Alfonso of Ferrara, who, he said, 
had married Lucretia Borgia, a woman " of the sort which 
everybody knows," and who had given his son a monster 
(Renee) for wife. Guidobaldo acquiesced in this view and 
replied that he knew he had a father who would never com- 

361 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

pel him to take a wife like Lucretia Borgia, " one as bad 
as she and of so many disreputable connections. ' ' * Thus 
the impression grew and Lucretia Borgia became the type 
of all feminine depravity until finally Victor Hugo in his 
drama, and Donizetti in his opera, placed her upon the 
stage in that character. 

In conclusion a few words regarding the descendants of 
Lucretia and Alfonso, — the Duke of Ferrara survived his 
wife fifteen stormy years. He, however, succeeded in de- 
fending himself against the popes of the Medici family, 
and he revenged himself on Clement VII by sacking Rome 
with the aid of the emperor's troops. Charles V gave him 
Modena and Reggio, and he was therefore able to leave his 
heir the estates of the house of Este in their integrity. He 
never married again, but a beautiful bourgeoise, Laura 
Eustochia Dianti, became his mistress. She bore him two 
sons, Alfonso and Alfonsino. The duke died October 31, 
1534, at the age of fifty-eight; his brothers, Cardinal Ip- 
polito and Don Sigismondo, having passed away before 
him, the former in 1520 and the latter in 1524. 

By Lucretia Borgia he had five children. Ercole suc- 
ceeded him ; Ippolito became a cardinal, and died December 
2, 1572, in Tivoli, where the Villa d'Este remains as his 
monument ; Elenora died, a nun, in the Convent of Corpus 
Domini, July 15, 1575 ; Francesco finally became Marchese 
of Massalombarda, and died February 22, 1578. 

Lucretia 's son Ercole reigned until October, 1559. In 
1528 his father had married him to Renee, the plain but 
intellectual daughter of Louis XII. Lucretia had never 
seen her daughter-in-law nor had she ever had any intima- 

* Di quella mala sorte che f u quella, e con tante disoneste parti. See 
Ugolino Storia dei Duchi d'Urbino, ii, 242. 

362 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA 

tion that it was to be Renee. The life of this famous 
duchess forms a noteworthy part of the history of Ferrara. 
She was an active supporter of the Reformation, which was 
inaugurated to free the world from a church which was 
governed by the Borgia, the Rovere, and the Medici. Renee 
was therefore described as a monster by the Rovere. She 
kept Calvin and Clement Marot in concealment at her 
court a long time. 

By a curious coincidence, in the year 1550 a man ap- 
peared at the court of Lucretia's son, who vividly recalled 
to the Borgias who were still living their family history, 
which was already becoming legendary. This man was Don 
Francesco Borgia, Duke of Gandia, now a Jesuit. His 
sudden appearance in Ferrara gives us an opportunity 
briefly to describe the fortunes of the house of Gandia. 

Of all the progeny of Alexander VI the most fortunate 
were those who were the descendants of the murdered Don 
Giovanni. His widow, Donna Maria, lived for a long time 
highly respected at the court of Queen Isabella of Castile, 
and subsequently she became an ascetic bigot and entered 
a convent. Her daughter Isabella did the same, dying in 
1537. Her only son, Don Giovanni, while a child, had suc- 
ceeded his unfortunate father as Duke of Gandia and had 
managed to retain his Neapolitan estates, which included 
an extensive domain in Terra di Lavoro, with the cities of 
Suessa, Teano, Carinola, Montefuscolo, Fiume, and others. 
In 1506 the youthful Gandia relinquished these towns to 
the King of Spain on payment of a sum of money. To the 
great Captain Gonsalvo was given the Principality of 
Suessa. 

Don Giovanni remained in Spain a highly respected 
grandee. He married Giovanna d'Aragona, a princess of 
the deposed royal house of Naples; his second wife was a 

363 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

daughter of the Viscount of Eval, Donna Francesca de 
Castro y Pinos, whom he married in 1520. The marriages 
of the Borgias were as a rule exceedingly fruitful. When 
this grandson of Alexander VI died in 1543 he left no 
fewer than fifteen children. His daughters married 
among the grandees of Spain and his sons were numbered 
among the great nobles of the country, where they enjoyed 
the highest honors. The eldest, Don Francesco Borgia, 
born in 1510, became Duke of Gandia and a great lord in 
Spain and highly honored at the court of Charles V, who 
made him Vice-Regent of Catalonia and Commander of San 
Iago. He accompanied the emperor on his expedition 
against France and even to Africa. In 1529 he married one 
of the ladies in waiting to the empress, Eleonora de Castro, 
who bore him five sons and three daughters. When she died, 
in 1546, the Duke of Gandia yielded to his long-standing 
desire to enter the Society of Jesus and to relinquish his 
brilliant position forever. It seemed as if a mysterious 
force was impelling him thus to expiate the crimes of his 
house. It is not strange, however, to find a descendant of 
Alexander VI in the garb of a Jesuit, for the diabolic force 
of will which had characterized that Borgia lived again in 
the person of his countryman, Loyola, in another form and 
directed to another end. The maxims of Macchiavelli 's 
' ' Prince ' ' thus became part of the political programme of 
the Jesuits. 

In 1550 the Duke of Gandia went to Rome to cast him- 
self at the feet of the Pope and to become a member of the 
Order. Paul III, brother of Giulia Farnese, had just died, 
and del Monte as Julius III had ascended the papal throne. 
Ercole II, cousin of Don Francesco, still occupied the ducal 
throne of Ferrara. He remembered the relationship and 
invited the traveler to stop at his city on his way to Rome. 

364 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA 

Francesco spent three days at the court of Lucretia's son, 
where he was received by Renee. Whether Loyola's bril- 
liant pupil had any knowledge of the religious attitude 
of Calvin's friend is not known. The presence of this man 
in Savonarola's native city and at Lucretia's former resi- 
dence is, on account of the contrast, remarkable. Fran- 
cesco left for Rome almost immediately, and then returned 
to Spain. On the death of Lainez, in 1565, he became 
general, — the third in order, — of the Society of Jesus. He 
still held this position at the time of his death, which oc- 
curred in Rome in the year 1572. The Church pronounced 
him holy, and thus a descendant of Alexander VI became 
a saint.* 

The descendants of this Borgia married into the greatest 
families of Spain. His eldest son, Don Carlos, Duke of 
Gandia, married Donna Maddalena, daughter of the 
Count of Oliva, of the house of Centelles, and thus the 
family to which Lucretia's first suitor belonged, after the 
lapse of fifty years, became connected with the Borgias. 
The Gandia branch survived until the eighteenth century, 
when there were two cardinals of the name of Borgia who 
were members of it. 

Ercole II did not discover the heretical tendencies of 
his wife Renee until 1554, when he placed her in a convent. 
The noble princess remained true to the Reformation. As 
the Inquisition stamped out the reform movement in 
Ferrara while her son was reigning duke, she returned to 
France, where she lived with the Huguenots in her Castle 
of Montargis, dying in 1575. It is worthy of note that the 
Duke of Guise was her son-in-law. 

Renee had borne her husband several children, — the he- 

* J.M . S. Daurignac, Histoire de S. Francois de Borgia, Due de 
Gandie, Troisieme General de la Compagnie de Jesus. Paris, 1863. 

365 



LUCRETIA BORGIA 

reditary Prince Alfonso Luigi, who subsequently became a 
cardinal; Donna Anna, who married the Duke of Guise; 
Donna Lucretia, who became Duchess of Urbino; and 
Donna Leonora, who remained single. 

Her son Alfonso II succeeded to the throne of Ferrara 
in 1559. This was the duke whom Tasso made immortal. 
Just as Ariosto, during the reign of the first Alfonso and 
Lucretia, had celebrated the house of Este in a monumental 
poem, so Torquato Tasso now continued to do at the home 
of his descendant, Alfonso II. By a curious coincidence 
the two greatest epic poets of Italy were in the service of 
the same family. Tasso 's fate is one of the darkest memo- 
ries of the house of Este, and is also the last of any special 
importance in the history of the court of Ferrara. His 
poem may be regarded as the death song of this famous 
family, for the legitimate line of the house of Este died 
out October 27, 1597, in Alfonso II, Lucretia Borgia's 
grandson. Don Caesar, a grandson of Alfonso I, and son of 
that Alfonso whom Laura Dianti had borne him and of 
Donna Giulia Rovere of Urbino, ascended the ducal throne 
of Ferrara on the death of Alfonso II as his heir. The Pope, 
however, would not recognize him. In vain he endeavored 
to prove that his grandfather, shortly before his death, had 
legally married Laura Dianti, and that consequently he 
was the legitimate heir to the throne. It availed nothing 
for the contestants to appear before the tribunal of em- 
peror and pope and endeavor to make Don Caesar's pre- 
tensions good, nor does it now avail for the Ferrarese, 
who, following Muratori, still seek to substantiate these 
claims. Don Caesar was forced to yield to Clement VIII, 
January 13, 1598, the grandson of Alfonso I renouncing 
the Duchy of Ferrara. Together with his wife, Virginia 
Medici and his children, he left the old palace of his an- 

366 



DEATH OF LUCRETIA BORGIA 

cestors and betook himself to Modena, the title of duke of 
that city and the estates of Reggio and Carpi having been 
conferred upon him. 

Don Ca?sar continued the branch line of the Este. At 
the end of the eighteenth century it passed into the Aus- 
trian Este house in the person of Archduke Ferdinand, and 
in the ninteenth century this line also became extinct. 

No longer do the popes control Ferrara. "Where the 
castle of Tedaldo stood when Lucretia made her entry into 
the city in 1502, where Clement VIII later erected the great 
castle which was razed in 1859, there is now a wide field in 
the middle of which, lost and forgotten, is a melancholy 
statue of Paul V, and all about is a waste. There is still 
standing before the castle of Giovanni Sforza in Pesaro 
a column from which the statue has been overturned, and 
on the base is the inscription: " Statue of Urban VII 
—That is all that is left of it." 



367 



INDEX 



24 



INDEX 



Adriana de Mila, see Mila, 

Adriana de. 
Albret, Charlotte d', married to 

Caesar Borgia, 115, 325. 
Aldo Manuzio, 132, 305, 327; in 

Venice, 340. 
Alexander VI, see Borgia, Rod- 

rigo. 
Alfonso d'Este, see Este. 
Alfonso of Biselli, see Alfonso of 

Naples. 
Alfonso of Naples, 111, 113; flees 

from Rome, 116; attempt on 

his life, 147 ; murdered, 148. 
Allegre, Monsignor d', captures 

Alexander's mistress, 87, 143. 
Amboise, Cardinal George d', 

115, 169, 296. 
Angelo, Michael, first appearance 

in Rome, 135; his Pietd, 136. 
Aragon, Eleonora of, wife of Er- 

cole d'Este, 54. 
Aragona, Camilla Marzana d', 

wife of Costanza Sforza, 78, 82. 
Aragona, Isabella d', of Milan, 

334; guardian of Rodrigo Bor- 
gia, 335. 
Aragonese of Naples, their fall, 

172. 
Arignano, Domenico of, 11. 
Ariosto, 247, 254, 308-309, 311; 

his Orlando, 340. 
Asolani, i, 31. 

Baglione, Giampolo, his coward- 
ice, 99. 
Ballet, the, 255. 



Bayard, the Chevalier, his opin- 
ion of Lucretia, 332. 

Behaim, Lorenz, humanist, 32. 

Bella, la, or Giulia Bella, 39 ; see 
also Farnese, Giulia. 

Bellingeri, Hector, 188. 

Bembo, Cardinal, 31; eulogizes 
Alexander VI, 100; condoles 
Lucretia on Alexander's death, 
291 ; dedicates his Asolani to 
Lucretia, 305, 306, 340. 

Beneimbeni, notary, 131. 

Bentivoglio, Ginevra, 101. 

Bisceglie or Biseglia, see Biselli. 

Biselli, 111; Lucretia duchess of, 
113. 

Biselli, Alfonso of, see Alfonso of 
Naples. 

Borgia, Alfonso, founder of the 
family, 3. 

Borgia, Angela, married to Fran- 
cesco Maria della Rovere, 115, 
223, 310; wife of Alessandro 
Pio, 311. 

Borgia, Anna de, Princess of 
Squillace, 334. 

Borgia, Beatrice, sister of Alex- 
ander VI, 5. 

Borgia, Caesar, his birth, 12; his 
moderation, 29; at the Univer- 
sity of Pisa, 39; made bishop 
of Valencia, 48; his person- 
ality, 57-58 ; made cardinal, 
65; crowns Federico, king of 
Naples, 108; renounces his 
cardinalate, 113; sails for 
France, 115; made duke of Va- 



371 



INDEX 



lentinois, 115; marries Char- 
lotte d'Albret, 115; campaigns 
in the Romagna, 122, 280; 
takes Forli, 139; correspond- 
ence with Ercole d'Este, 145 ; 
letter to Gonzaga, 146; power 
over his father, 149; enters 
Romagna, 159 ; takes Pesaro, 
161; Faenza, 166; made duke 
of Romagna, 170; in Naples, 
172; returns from Naples, 188; 
his age, 202; letter to Lucre- 
tia, 280; treachery of his cap- 
tains, 283; letter to Isabella 
Gonzaga, 285; taken sick, 286; 
loses his estates, 293; in Nepi, 
295, 298 ; goes to Naples, 299 ; 
to Spain, 299; confined in 
Castle of Seville, 300; escapes, 
317-318; informs Gonzaga of 
his escape, 319; his death, 321- 
322; his character, 323. 

Borgia, Catarina, sister of Calix- 
tus III, 4. 

Borgia, Francesco, duke of Gan- 
dia, enters the Society of 
Jesus, 364; general of the or- 
der, 365 ; dies in Rome and is 
canonized, 365. 

Borgia, Giovanni, duke of Gan- 
dia, son of Vannozza, 12, 93. 

Borgia, Giovanni, Cardinal, " the 
elder," made cardinal, 49. 

Borgia, Giovanni, Cardinal, " the 
younger," 116; death of, 137; 
his parentage, 138. 

Borgia, Giovanni, " Infante of 
Rome," his parentage, 192- 
194, 295, 335; at Lucretia's 
court, 341-342; his death, 343- 
344. 

Borgia, Girolama, daughter of 
Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, 18. 

Borgia, Giuffre, son of Van- 
nozza, his birth, 20; made 



archdeacon of Valencia, 40; 
marries Donna Sancia, of Na- 
ples, 65; Prince of Squillace, 
71; comes to Rome, 92, 295; 
goes to Naples, 299. 

Borgia, Isabella, daughter of 
Cardinal Rodrigo, 19. 

Borgia, Isabella, sister of Calix- 
tus III, 4. 

Borgia, Juana, sister of Cardinal 
Rodrigo, 5. 

Borgia, Juan Luis, nephew of 
Calixtus III, 4. 

Borgia, Lucretia, daughter of 
Cardinal Rodrigo and Van- 
nozza, birth, 12-13; her edu- 
cation, 23; her modesty, 28; 
her linguistic attainments, 31; 
letters to Bembo, 31 ; be- 
trothed to Cherubino Juan de 
Centelles, 41; betrothed to 
Gasparo de Procida, 42; mar- 
ried to Giovanni Sforza of Pe- 
saro, 58-60 ; returns to Rome, 
86; goes to the Convent of S. 
Sisto, 107 ; rumors concerning, 
109 ; divorced from Sforza, 
109; betrothed to Alfonzo of 
Naples, 111; becomes duchess 
of Biselli, 113; regent of Spo- 
leto, 117; invested with title 
to Nepi, 118; gives birth to a 
son, 121; her private life, 125; 
her weakness, 151; goes to 
Nepi, 151; letters from there, 
155-157, 172; represents the 
pope in his absence, 173 ; 
charges against her, 175; ob- 
jections to her marriage, 184; 
nuptials with Alfonso d'Este, . 
185-187; prepares to depart, 
196; her age, 201; her dowry, 
204-207; her character, 212; 
her marriage, 216; her retinue, 
222; leaves Rome, 225; jour- 



372 



INDEX 



ney to Ferrara, 232-240 ; ' en- 
trance into Ferrara, 240-244; 
her person, 247 ; fetes in her 
honor, 250-263; letter to Isa- 
bella Gonzaga, 263 ; gives birth 
to a daughter, 282 ; duchess of 
Ferrara, 303 ; her library, 304 ; 
corresponds with Giulia Far- 
nese, 313 ; bears a son, 326; an- 
other, 328; regent of Ferrara, 
328; claims Rodrigo's prop- 
erty, 336; change in her char- 
acter, 338; relations with her 
husband, 341 ; her son, Ales- 
sandro, 341 ; letter to Isabella 
Gonzaga, 355 ; letter to Leo 
X, 356; her death, 357; place 
of burial unknown, 358; por- 
traits of, 358-359; medals of, 
359 ; posthumous reputation, 
361 ; her children by Alfonso, 
362. 

Borgia, Ludovico, governor of 
Spoleto, 121. 

Borgia, Luigi, 325. 

Borgia, Luisa, Caesar's daugh- 
ter, 325. 

Borgia, Pedro Luis, nephew of 
Calixtus III, 4, 5 ; his death, 6. 

Borgia, Rodrigo, nephew of Ca- 
lixtus III, made cardinal, 4; 
vice-chancellor, 5 ; his sen- 
suality, 7 ; his person, 9 ; his 
wealth, 17 ; and Adriana Or- 
sini, 23 ; witness to marriage 
of Giulia Farnese and Orsino 
Orsini, 38; elected pope, 44; 
his coronation, 45 ; letter to his 
daughter, 74; his abstinence, 
94; secures Lucretia's divorce, 
108; determines to marry Lu- 
cretia into house of Naples, 
110; demands hand of Car- 
lotta of Naples for Caesar, 110; 
letter to priors of Spoleto, 117; 



assumes control of Nepi, 120; 
his intellectual pleasures, 126; 
extols Ercole, 188; his Latin, 
189; falls sick, 197; letter to 
the priors of Nepi, 224; sick- 
ness and death, 286; his im- 
morality, 289-291. 

Borgia, Rodrigo, nephew of Al- 
exander VI, captain of the 
papal guard, 49. 

Borgia, Rodrigo, son of Lucretia 
and Alfonso of Naples, his 
birth, 121, 194, 295-296; his 
death, 333. 

Borgia, Tecla, sister of Cardinal 
Rodrigo, 5. 

Borgias, their coat of arms, 45; 
their character, 93-94; family, 
203. 

Brandolini, Aurelio, 126. 

Bull-fighting in Rome, 220. 

Burchard, 125; his diary, 129- 
131, 177, 289. 

Cagnolo of Parma, his descrip- 
tion of Lucretia, 248. 

Calcagnini, Celio, bridal song, 
246, 340. 

Calixtus III, 4; his death, 6. 

Calvin, 363. 

Cambray, League of, 327. 

Canale, Carlo, 21-22. 

Capello, Polo, account of Caesar, 
177, 180. 

Caracciolo, his De Varietate 
FortutKC, 334. 

Caranza, Pedro, privy-chamber- 
lain, 49. 

Carlotta of Naples, 110. 

Carlotta, Queen of Cyprus, 32. 

Castelli, Adriano, 132. 

Castiglione, 31, 250, 305. 

Castle Vecchio, description of, 
270-272. 

Catanei, see Vannozza Catanei. 



373 



INDEX 



Cavalliere, Bartolomeo, letter of, 

182. 
Caviceo, Jacopo, dedicates his 

Peregrino to Lucretia, 308. 
Centelles, Cherubino Juan de, 

betrothal to Lucretia, 41. 
Charles V, 4, 327. 
Charles VIII, 62; enters Italy, 

87 ; retreats, 90. 
Chrysoleras, 32. 
Cieco, Francesco, his Hambriano, 

277. 
Classic culture, 26. 
Collenuccio, Pandolfo, poet and 

orator, 85; letter to Ercole, 

161, 293-294; his death, 295. 
Colonna, Vittoria, 30, 136, 142. 
Copernicus in Rome, 129. 
Cortegiano, il, 31. 
Cosenza, Cardinal of, 191 ; Rod- 

rigo Borgia's guardian, 297. 
Costa, Michele, 339. 
Cotrone, Marchesana of, letter to 

Gonzaga, 253. 
Croce, Giorgio de, husband of 

Vannozza, 12, 20. 

Dance, the, during the Renais- 
sance, 253. 

Decio, Philippo, jurisprudent, 40. 

Delia Rovere, see Rovere. 

Dianti, Laura Eustochia, mis- 
tress of Alfonso d'Este, 362, 
366. 

Diplovatazio, Giorgio, 84. 

Dossi, Dosso, 278, 339. 

Drama, the, 128. 

Eleonora of Aragon, wife of Er- 
cole d'Este, 270. 

Enriquez, Maria, wife of Gio- 
vanni Borgia, duke of Gandia, 
64. 

Este, palaces of the, 244; their 



history, 266-270; family ex- 
pires in Alfonso II, 366. 

Este, Alfonso d', 54; projected 
marriage with Lucretia, 167, 
182; greets his bride, 236; be- 
comes duke of Ferrara, 303; 
conspiracy against, 315; sus- 
pected of the murder of Stroz- 
zi, 327 ; under ban of Julius II, 
33 1 ; asks the pope's forgive- 
ness, 333 ; attends coronation 
of Leo X, 338; cultivates the 
arts, 339; letter to his nephew 
on Lucretia's death, 357. 

Este, Alfonso II, d', succeeds to 
throne of Ferrara, 366. 

Este, Alfonso Luigi d', son of 
Renee, 365. 

Este, Anna d', wife of the duke 
of Guise, 366. 

Este, Beatrice d', wife of Ludovi- 
co il Moro, 54. 

Este, Ercole d', 54; letter to Al- 
exander VI, 55 ; letter to Gon- 
zaga, 186; to his envoys, 198; 
relations with Lucretia, 205; 
present to her, 217; letter to 
Alexander VI, 265; congratu- 
lates Caesar, 284; letter to 
Seregni, 287; to Lucretia re- 
garding her son Rodrigo, 297- 
298 ; his death, 303. 

Este, Ercole II, d', duke of Fer- 
rara, 362, 364. 

Este, Ferrante d', his imprison- 
ment and death, 316. 

Este, Giulio d', attack on, 310; 
its consequences, 315; his im- 
prisonment and death, 316. 

Este, Ippolito d', 56; made car- 
dinal, 65, 186, 310. 

Este, Isabella d', wife of Fran- 
cesco Gonzaga of Montua, her 
learning, 30, 54; meets Lu- 
cretia, 239, 245; her beauty 



374 



INDEX 



and vanity, 252 ; letter to Lu- 
cretia, 263 ; congratulates Cae- 
sar on his successes, 284; pre- 
dilection for the arts, 340. 
Estouteville, Cardinal, his chil- 
dren, 54. 

Farnese, Alessandro, 36-37 ; made 
cardinal, 65. 

Farnese, family, 36-37. 

Farnese, Girolama, 65, 312. 

Farnese, Giulia, 35 ; her betroth- 
al, 37 ; marriage, 38, 39 ; " the 
pope's concubine," 63, 65 ; her 
daughter, Laura, 66 ; " Christ's 
bride," 66 ; her beauty, 69 ; 
captured by the French, 87, 
123, 311; her death, 314. 

Fedeli, Cassandra, 28, 30. 

Federico of Naples, consents to 
betrothal of Alfonso and Lu- 
cretia, 110. 

Ferdinand of Naples, congratu- 
lates Sforza on his marriage, 
62. 

Ferdinand of Spain, 299, 302. 

Ferno, Michele, describes Alex- 
ander's coronation, 46-48, 129. 

Ferrara, 191 ; Lucretia enters, 
240-244; description of, 272- 
278. 

Ferrari, Cardinal, 185, 224. 

Filosseno, Marcello, sonnets to 
Lucretia, 308. 

Florence, her fear of Caesar, 202. 

Foix, Gaston de, 332. 

Gffitani, family, 122 ; their prop- 
erty given Lucretia, 123; re- 
turn to Sermoneta, 296. 

Gambara, Veronica, her learning, 
30. 

Gandia (see also Giovanni Bor- 
gia), Duke of, gonfalonier, 



103; murder of, 105-106; his 
heir, 106, 177. 

Garofalo, Benvenuto, 278, 339. 

Ghibbelines, 14. 

Gonsalvo, 299. 

Gonzaga, Elisabetta, her pilgrim- 
age to Rome, 140; letter to her 
brother, Francesco Gonzaga, 
140-142. 

Gonzaga, Isabella, see Este, Isa- 
bella d'. 

Gradara, Castle of, 83. 

Greek, study of, 32. 

Guelf III of Swabia, 267. 

Guelphs, 14. 

Guicciardini, Francesco, his 
charges against Lucretia, 176. 

Imola, attacked by Caesar Borgia, 

121. 
Infessura, 11, 24. 
Inghirami, Phaedra, 128. 
Inquisition, the, 365. 

Jovius, Paul, his opinion of Lu- 
cretia, 338. 

Jubilee of 1500, 137, 140. 

Julius II (see also Rovere, Giu- 
liano della), 298, 312; offends 
Lucretia, 313; takes Perugia 
and Bologna, 317; forms 
League of Cambray, 327 ; 
places Alfonso under his ban, 
331; his death, 338. 

Lanzol family, 4. 

Leo X, 338 ; his court, 340. 

Literature during the Renais- 
sance, 96. 

Lopez, Juan, made chancellor, 
49. 

Louis XII, 116; takes Milan, 
121; opposes marriage of Lu- 
cretia and Alfonso d'Este, 169; 



375 



INDEX 



congratulates Alexander VI, Nepotism, 14 



198. 
Loyola, Ignatius, 4, 364. 
Lucia of Viterbo, Sister, 257. 
Ludovico il Moro, 45; hatred of 

the pope, 89. 

Macchiavelli, his theory of the 
ruler, 98-99 ; his " Prince," 
100. 

Majolica, 83. 

Malatesta, the, of Rimini, 77. 

Malatesta, Sigismondo, 25. 

Malipiero, letter of, 180. 

Manfredi, Astorre, surrenders to 
Caesar, 166. 

Mantua, Isabella of, see Este, 
Isabella d'. 

Mantua, Marquis of, his letter on 
Alexander's death, 288. 

Manuzio, Aldo, see Aldo Manu- 
zio. 

Marades, Juan, made privy-chan- 
cellor, 49. 

Marot, Clement, at court of 
Renee, 363. 

Matarazza of Perugia, 178-179. 

Matilda, Countess, 267. 

Maximilian, Emperor, opposition 
to Lucretia's marriage, 184, 
329. 

Melini, the brothers, 127. 

Micheletto, confesses that Alfon- 
so of Biselli was murdered by 
Alexander's orders, 346. 

Mila or Mella family, 4. 

Mila, Adriana, 5; married to 
Ludovico Orsini, 23. 

Montefeltre, the, 232. 

Montefeltre, Agnesina di, 142. 

Nepi, 119; given to Ascanio 
Sforza, 120; description of, 
152-155; unhealthful climate 
of 158. 



Novel, the, during the Renais- 
sance, 26. 

Nugarolla, Isotta, her learning, 
30. 

Orsini, Adriana (see also Mila, 
Adriana de), captured by the 
French, 87, 223. 

Orsini, Laura, daughter of the 
pope, 66 ; betrothed to Federico 
Farnese, 114; betrothed to 
Raimondo Farnese, 312. 

Orsini, Orsino, 23; betrothed to 
Giulia Farnese, 37 ; the mar- 
riage, 38. 

Paniciatus, N. Marius, his poems 
in honor of Lucretia, 245. 

Paul III, 36. 

Pazzi conspiracy, the, 14. 

Perotto, 177. 

Perugino, 100, 133. 

Pesaro, history of, 76-79 ; descrip- 
tion of, 79-86 ; captured by Cae- 
sar Borgia, 161. 

Pesaro, Giovanni of, see Sforza, 
Giovanni. 

Philosophy, study of, during the 
Renaissance, 29. 

Piccolomini, Cardinal, his chil- 
dren, 34; elected pope, 296. 

Pietd of Michael Angelo, 136. 

Pinturicchio, 100 ; his portrait of 
Giulia Farnese, 133; portraits 
of the Borgias, 134. 

Pius II, admonitory letter to 
Cardinal Borgia, 7. 

Pius III, 296. 

Poliziano, Angelo, 21. 

Pollajuolo, Antonio, sculptor, 
134. 

Pompilio, Paolo, dedicates his 
Syllabica to Caesar Borgia, 39, 
129. 



376 



INDEX 



Pontanus, 125; his epigrams, 
176. 

Porcaro, the, adherents of the 
Borgias, 46; the brothers, 127. 

Posthumus, Guido, see Silvester, 
Guido Posthumus. 

Pozzi, Gianlucca, 185; descrip- 
tion of Lucretia, 213; letter to 
Ercole d'Este, 220, 229-232. 

Prete, el, his account of Lucre- 
tia's wedding, 214-215, 218. 

Principe il, 100. 

Procida, Gasparo de, betrothed 
to Lucretia, 42 ; the contract 
dissolved, 51, 111. 

Pucci, Lorenzo, 66; letter to his 
brother, 67. 

Pucci, Puccio, 37, 65. 



Ravenna, battle of, 332. 

Reformation, the, 363. 

Renaissance, the, education of 
women during, 24-33 ; immor- 
ality during, 96-101, 135; the 
theater, 97, 251 ; traveling, 
208 ; the dance, 253 ; dress, 
260. 

Renee of France, wife of Ercole 
II, 362-363; placed in convent, 
365 ; dies in France, 365. 

Requesenz, 300, 319, 321. 

Reuchlin, in Rome, 131. 

Romagna, Duke of, see Borgia, 
Caesar. 

Rome, society of, 133 ; sack of, 
362. 

Romolini, Francesco, 40. 

Romolini, Raimondo, goes to 
Rome, 182. 

Rovere, Francesco Maria della, 
secures Pesaro, 331. 

Rovere, Giuliano della (see also 
Julius II), his children, 34; 
goes to France to urge Charles 



VIII to invade Italy, 73, 115, 
196; becomes pope, 298, 314. 

Sadoleto, 340. 

Sancia of Naples, Donna, gossip 
concerning, 95; banished from 
Rome, 134; her death, 334. 

Sangallo, Antonio di, Alexander's 
architect, 134. 

Sannazzaro, his epigrams, 125, 
176. 

Sanuto, Marino, his diary, 178, 
289. 

Saraceni, 188; letter regarding 
the bridal escort, 199-201; let- 
ter to Ercole d'Este, 220, 222- 
232. 

Savonarola, 95, 276. 

Serafina of Aquila, 126. 

Sermoneta, 122. 

Sessa, see Suessa. 

Sforza, the palace of, 81 ; trag- 
edies among, 334. 

Sforza, Ascanio, made vice-chan- 
cellor, 44; joins the Colonna, 
73; leaves Rome, 116, 143. 

Sforza, Battista, her learning, 
30. 

Sforza, Blanca, 183, 185. 

Sforza, Cattarina, 101 ; surren- 
ders to Caesar, 139 ; her life, 
139; released, 143; her death, 
144. 

Sforza, Galeazzo, succeeds Gio- 
vanni, 331. 

Sforza, Ginevra, 28. 

Sforza, Giovanni, of Pesaro, of- 
fered Lucretia's hand, 50 ; be- 
trothed to her, 52 ; marriage, 
58 ; his person, 59 ; his rela- 
tions with the pope uncertain, 
71 ; letter to his uncle, Ludo- 
vico il Moro, 7 1 ; leaves Rome, 
73; returns, 102; flees from 
Rome, 104; protests against 



377 



INDEX 



divorce, 108; divorced from 
Lucretia, 109; appeals to Gon- 
zaga for help, 159-160; leaves 
Pesaro, 160, 179; returns to 
Pesaro, 294 ; his death, 330. 

Sforza, Ippolita, 28. 

Sforza, Ludovico, captured by 
king of France, 143. 

Silvester, Guido Posthumus, poet, 
85, 179. 

Sixtus IV, 14. 

Soriano, defeat of the pope at, 
104. 

Sperulo, Francesco, Caesar's court 
poet, 126. 

Spoleto, the castle of, 119. 

Squillace, Prince of, see Borgia, 
Giuffre. 

Stage, the, during the Renais- 
sance, 97. 

Strozzi, Ercole, eulogizes Caesar 
Borgia, 100; poem on death of 
Csesar, 324; murder of. 326. 

Strozzi, father and son, 277, 307. 

Suessa, Giovanni Borgia, duke 
of, 71. 

Taro, battle of the, 91. 

Tasso, Torquato, his Aminta, 83, 
366. 

Tebaldeo, Antonio, 277, 308, 340. 

Theology, study of, during the 
Renaissance, 29. 

Tiepoli, Ginevra, wife of Giovan- 
ni Sforza, 330. 



Tisio, Benvenuto, see Garofalo. 
Titian, 327. 
Torelli, Barbara, 327. 
Trivulzia of Milan, 29. 
Troche, Caesar's confidant, 191. 

Urbino, Elisabetta of, her learn- 
ing, 30; her beauty, 252. 

Urbino, Guidobaldo of, in com- 
mand of papal troops, 102. 

Valentino or Valentinois, see 
Borgia, Caesar. 

Vannozza Catanei, mistress of 
Rodrigo Borgia, 10; her chil- 
dren, 12; her home, 15; mar- 
riage to Carlo Canale, 22, 295 ; 
charged with theft, 346; gives 
her house to Church of S. 
Maria del Popolo, 346 ; her last 
years, 347-351; her bequests, 
351; her death, 351; her ob- 
sequies, 353. 

Vasari, his account of Pinturic- 
chio's work, 133. 

Vatican, the orgy in, 178; life 
in, 189. 

Villa Imperiale, 83. 

Vinci, Leonardo da, 100. 

Virago, meaning of the term, 28, 
101. 

Zambotto, Bernardino, his de- 
scription of Lucretia, 247. 



378 



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